Harry Potter: Evil Rising
by JorjaLupin
Summary: Sirius Black & Remus Lupin find their different worlds turned upside down when James and Lily Potter die, leaving custody of their son, Harry, to their care after their secret-keeper, Albus Dumbledore, is killed. Both men will be tested when, during Harry's school years, an evil will rise up that the wizarding world didn't expect. Loosely follows canon. Not always Harry centric.
1. Halloween

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole property of J K Rowling**

**Chapter 1: Halloween**

After parking his motorbike, Sirius Black dashed through the ruins of his best friend's cottage in Godric's Hollow, flames shooting up into the air from an area he suspected had once been the fireplace. "James?"

A gigantic furry bundle rose up from behind a pile of rubble, tears running down the man's cheeks into his beard. "He's gone."

"Lily?"

The man shook his head. "Found her with this one."

Sirius held out his arms. "Hagrid, give Harry to me."

"Professor Dumbledore said if Harry 'ad survived, then I 'ad to collect him before delivering him to his aunt and uncle's house in Little Whinging."

"Dumbledore did?" Sirius asked sharply.

"Yes."

"Dumbledore was the Potters' secret-keeper," Sirius retorted, holding out his arms. "Now give me Harry, because you're not taking him to that traitorous bastard."

A staunch supporter of Albus Dumbledore, a man who had done much for Hagrid, the giant gamekeeper refused to listen to Sirius. "I don't believe 'e betrayed them for a second, an' I intend to do as I've been told."

"Over my dead body." Sirius unholstered his wand. "He's my godson, and he's coming with me."

"Now listen…" Hagrid got no further in his speech as Sirius froze him in position, taking the now unmoving baby out of Hagrid's arms, and fashioning a sort of papoose out of his voluminous scarf he always wore when riding his motorbike, before releasing Harry from the spell and slipping him into the mock papoose.

Remus Lupin, another of Sirius' friends suddenly appeared, a loud crack signaling his arrival. "Oh Merlin!"

Sirius turned with his wand on Remus, aware of how close his friend was to Dumbledore. "You're not taking him to Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore? What are you talking about?"

"Harry."

"I don't understand. What's Harry doing here?" Remus asked, his confusion easy to see.

Given what he had just discovered about Dumbledore, Sirius was unsure if his friend was playacting or if he was truly confounded. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, he said, "This is, or rather was, James and Lily's place."

Remus looked around him, feeling sick as he took in the sheer devastation. "Are they…?"

"Yes, but Harry isn't, as you can see, and I don't care what you say, you're not taking him to Dumbledore."

"Why on earth would I take Harry to Albus? And how did you even know he'd be here?"

"A letter appeared in front of me saying that if I was receiving it, then James was dead and I should come here to see if anyone had survived, which I did. When I arrived, I found Hagrid about to take Harry to Dumbledore, which I couldn't allow."

"So you've said, but why?" Remus asked, not understanding Sirius' reluctance to take Harry to the safety of Hogwarts or Dumbledore's home.

"Because he was James and Lily's secret-keeper, and he has to have betrayed them to You-Know-Who since they're both dead."

"Come on, Sirius. You can't honestly believe Albus would do that?" Remus was another staunch supporter of Albus, thanks to the man's acceptance of him at a school in a situation most other adults would have baulked at.

"He _was_ their secret-keeper," Sirius said, reiterating his statement. "And if Dumbledore didn't send you, then how did you know to come here?"

"I live in the village," Remus reminded Sirius, having moved into a flat over the village shop three weeks' earlier. "And I was looking out of my window when I saw flames coming from over this way and thought someone might need help, so no, he didn't send me, although I still can't believe he'd betray James and Lily."

"I have proof he did, but I need to present it to my section leader so that we can arrest Dumbledore."

"I'll take Harry," Remus said, ignoring the outstretched wand and stepping towards Sirius, frowning angrily when Sirius took a step backwards. "Sirius, don't be a bloody idiot. You can't take Harry to face off against Albus if what you say is right, and I give you my word I'll take him somewhere safe: to my grandparents' place in Walsingham. You can join me there."

Sirius hesitated, before handing over his precious cargo. "You'd better not do anything stupid."

Remus tucked Harry up so that he was inside of his Muggle style coat, protecting him from the cold night air, safe and warm against Remus' body. "Sirius, just go and report what's happened so that this misunderstanding can be cleared up. Harry will be safe with me."

"Actually take the motorbike," Sirius said, holding up the keys. "I can disapparate."

"I'm not riding that death trap." Remus had been on it once, and Sirius had almost killed them both when he had decided to try and race a Muggle motorbike of similar design; only by disapparating had the two of them remained uninjured when Sirius had lost control and ran the bike into the side of a Muggle tunnel. The bike had been badly damaged and, even after being repaired, still occasionally played up, even though Sirius said it was now fine. "Shrink it and disapparate."

Hagrid started to unfreeze, the Petrificus spell wearing off and Sirius aimed his wand at him. "Obliviate."

"Sirius!"

"I don't want anyone knowing where Harry is, and Hagrid could hear everything we've been saying, so go, I intend to."

Sirius prayed he had done the right thing by trusting Remus, something James had been loath to do, and, after shrinking his bike and pocketing it, he vanished to report in.

* * *

**Little Whinging, Surrey**

Albus Dumbledore pivoted on the spot as did Minerva McGonagall, his colleague, as pop after pop sounded, and Aurors appeared, including Amelia Bones, the newly appointed head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, more commonly known as British Auror Division or BritAD for short.

"Albus Dumbledore, you're under arrest for suspicion of colluding with You-Know-Who in the deaths of James and Lily Potter. Anything you say can be used against you during a trial. Do you understand the charges?"

"Of course, but…"

"Please hand over your wands and surrender yourself to my men."

With twenty Aurors training their wands on him, Albus had little choice but to acquiesce.

"This is outrageous," Minerva said, leaping to Albus' defense. "Professor Dumbledore…"

"Will get a fair trial," Amelia said, cutting off Minerva before she began one of her rants. "Black, if you would."

Sirius walked over and took the wands from Dumbledore, having begged Amelia to allow him to go, even though he was a very junior Auror, and this was a high profile arrest. "How could you? They trusted you."

"Black!" Amelia barked out, the single word carrying a warning that Sirius reacted to by simmering down. "Take him away and then send the Muggle obliviation team in here. There are far too many twitching curtains."

"Yes, Ma'am," Sirius responded, grabbing Albus' arm and, so that his voice would not carry back to his commanding officer, he quietly hissed at Albus, "I hope they feed you to the Dementors for what you've done."

With Sirius shielding him from most of Amelia's men with his body, Albus now had a chance to flee, and so he dropped his head as if in defeat, catching Sirius by surprise when he tugged free of his grip and elbowed Sirius in the stomach, dropping with Sirius as he fell in order to maintain Sirius as a shield.

Sirius, however, was a lot more agile than Dumbledore had given him credit for, and even as he was collapsing in pain, he was aiming his wand at Albus, who was in the motion of raising his arms, intending to call for Fawkes, his phoenix and bonded companion.

"Stupefy."

As Sirius hit the pavement, his spell caught Albus in the shoulder, and with Albus unable to dodge the spell at pointblank range, he was blasted backwards into a brick wall that surrounded the house behind him, striking his head sharply on it.

Amelia immediately yelled for a healer, every team carrying one, as she hurried over to where Albus was lying, blood pooling around his head.

The healer immediately went to work, gently rolling Albus over, making Amelia wince at the pulpy mess he revealed, the skull shattered. Moments later, he slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but there's nothing I can do for him."

Amelia turned to face Sirius, who had been helped to his feet by one of his colleagues. "Black, report to interview room one. Now!"

"Yes, Ma'am." Sirius vanished.

* * *

**The Ministry of Magic**

Sirius signed his name in blood to his account of what had happened that night. If he was lying in any way, the magic in the parchment would cause it to turn yellow. Amelia was relieved when it remained a pale cream.

"Even though I'm of the opinion that you acted within the bounds of your position, I'm still going to have to suspend you until a full investigation has been carried out. And Harry Potter will have to become a ward of the Ministry until a home can be found for him."

"He's my godson, and I know James intended to appoint me as Harry's guardian in the case of his death."

"Then I'll need to see that in writing," Amelia said, not willing to take Sirius at his word, even though she did trust the young man in her employ. "In fact, I'll accompany you myself to Gringotts to view Potter's will if one exists."

"But it's four a.m."

"You'll be staying here until they open at eight," Amelia informed Sirius. "I've sent a messenger to the Lupin residence in Walsingham to collect both Remus Lupin and Harry Potter."

"I don't think Remus had anything to do with this."

"But you're not certain," Amelia noted, having spotted Sirius' hesitance.

"Not entirely but he gave me his word that Harry would be safe."

"You're a good deal more trusting than I am, Black," Amelia said, thinking Sirius rather foolish to rely on just a man's word. "I would have asked for an oath."

"I wasn't exactly thinking clearly."

"Then perhaps a refresher course in procedure might be a good idea while you're on suspension from active duty," Amelia decided. "I'll ask someone to bring you something to eat and drink, but you'll remain here until I've interviewed Lupin and it's time to go to Gringotts."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

Sirius, who had been dozing in his seat, sat up as the door opened. "Good morning, Ma'am."

"Good morning, Black. It's time to go."

Sirius said little as he was led into Gringotts by Amelia, who marched purposefully towards the closest goblin.

"We're here to witness James Potter's will, if one exists, to try to determine if Sirius Black is now the legitimate guardian of Harry James Potter."

Crunkle, the goblin, held out his hand. "Identification."

Amelia resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. She was usually in Gringotts for one thing or another more than twice a week and had always dealt with Crunkle, her family's goblin banker, since she had been old enough to do so. After pulling out her identification and handing it to him, glaring at the goblin through the monocle she favored, she said, "Is it in order?"

"It is. I'll ask Metasil to take you to see Rabin, who deals with this sort of thing."

* * *

Once they were all seated in his office, the Potter wills having been extracted from their vaults, Rabin turned to Amelia. "Do you know who died first?"

"No. There are no known witnesses to the killings."

"Then guardianship of Harry James Potter will pass under both wills," Rabin declared.

"Can you confirm that Sirius Black is to be Harry Potter's guardian?"

"He is," Rabin said to Amelia after spending a few minutes perusing James' will, and then turning to Lily's. "And Remus Lupin has been nominated by Lily Potter."

This was not exactly a surprise, since, even though James had grown suspicious of Remus' allegiances before they had gone into hiding, Lily had not, something Sirius had agreed with despite his reaction to Remus the previous night. "So we get joint custody?"

"Or one or both of you can choose not take it up."

"I'm taking Harry," Sirius said, although he had no idea what Remus would want. "But I can't speak for Remus."

"He'll be contacted," Rabin said, before moving on. "You should know that neither of you will become the warden of the Potter vaults, since James Potter had signed a later document than his will allocating this custodianship to Albus Dumbledore."

"He's dead," Amelia informed Rabin. "I can provide you with the necessary death certificate to prove this, as I've done with both James and Lily Potter."

"A declaration will be sufficient."

Amelia gritted her teeth as she signed a piece of parchment in blood, using a quill which Sirius recognized as a blood quill similar to the one he had used to sign his declaration of his actions during Dumbledore's arrest. After signing her name, Amelia slid the parchment back to Rabin, who nodded. "In that case, the original allocation will now come back into play. Sirius Black, you now have custodianship of all three Potter vaults."

"I'm quite capable of taking care of Harry without touching the Potter vaults," Sirius informed the goblin.

"Even so, custody of the keys will now fall to you," Rabin said, opening up a drawer and withdrawing three keys. "The Potter Family ring will be kept in the main vault until Harry Potter reaches the age of eleven. And then, when he reaches the age of seventeen, he'll also have access to Grimmauld Square and the Potter Estate, although, as his guardian, you may take up with residence with him in either of these properties before then."

Sirius mulled things over. "I may wish to reside at Grimmauld Square. I've been living in a small flat but I doubt it's suitable for a baby."

Rabin opened up the drawer again, this time withdrawing a large ruby encrusted key, which he slid across to Sirius. "Now you need to sign for everything."

Sirius picked up the quill. "Where do I sign?"

Amelia noticed that, unlike most people and indeed her, just as he had that morning, Sirius showed no sign of pain when signing the six documents that Rabin had produced in triplicate, Sirius as calm as if he was signing in ink. When he had finished, she could see the words, 'Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black', etched into the back of his now heavily bleeding hand. She did not, however, offer to heal it, aware it would have been an affront to the goblin seated in front of them if she did.

Rabin collected the documents together, stamping each one, before giving Sirius one set back, handing one to Amelia for Ministry records, and keeping one set for Gringotts. "I do believe our business is concluded. Good day."

"Good day," Sirius echoed, as did Amelia, the two of them leaving after the abrupt dismissal, Sirius shoving his hand into his pocket so he would not drip blood on to the floor as he left the Bank. Only once they were outside did he pull it out and examine the damage.

"Report to sickbay and ask them to heal it," Amelia ordered, her own hand throbbing, so she knew Sirius' had to be a good deal more painful. "And then come to see me."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Sirius took little time in getting his hand looked at and, after applying some of the cream the healer gave him, he headed for Amelia's office, to discover Remus and Harry sitting in there. "Ma'am, Black reporting as ordered."

"At ease, Black. I've decided to suspend you on full pay for a month, which will not only give me time to conduct an investigation into Professor Dumbledore's death, but also allow you time to sort out your private life now that you have a child for whom you're going to be responsible."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

Amelia turned to Remus, who was cradling a sleeping Harry. "I'm satisfied, as you already know, that you're an innocent party in the deaths of James and Lily Potter. You're therefore free to leave with Black."

"Thank you, Madam Bones," Remus said, rising up and inclining his head. "I've left my details where I can be contacted with Auror Valeris, should you have any more questions for me."

"Thank you. Black, dismissed."

"Yes, Ma'am." Sirius followed Remus out of the room. "Come on, we're going to Grimmauld Square."

"The house James' grandmother owned?"

"Yep," Sirius said, tugging the large, ornate key out of his pocket. "I'm now its temporary custodian."

"I'll meet you at the door, since I can't disapparate from in here."

Sirius grabbed Remus' arm and headed towards the disapparition area specifically for Aurors. "I know, but I can."

"Sirius, I don't think it's a good idea with..."

"Tough, we're here," Sirius said, moving on to an unmarked spot and disapparating, taking Remus and Harry along with him.

Harry began to cry as soon as they reappeared, the squishing sensation from disapparition waking him up and upsetting him. Remus scowled at Sirius as he began to rock Harry. "You could have let me finish speaking. I was going to suggest I floo to the floo point around the corner and walk here. Disapparating upsets Harry."

"Maybe so, but after what's happened, I feel safer knowing he's inside wards and not out there," Sirius said, nodding his head behind him as he inserted the key into the lock of the bright blue door that guarded the entrance to the property, feeling a tingling sensation run up his arm as he turned the key. The door then swung open.

"It's spotless," Remus murmured in astonishment as he stepped into the house behind Sirius.

"House-elves," Sirius said, his voice full of distaste. "They'll be the first thing going if there are any here."

"They're not all like Kreacher."

"I know but I never feel as if I've got any privacy when they're around, snooping into everything." Sirius turned as one of the creatures appeared in front of him. "Yes, I'm moving in, no, I don't need anything."

"Very good, Sir." The house-elf vanished.

"Looks like a real snooper to me," Remus said, his voice filled with mockery.

"Oh shut up, and let's look around."

Remus carefully changed the position of the once again sleeping Harry so that he was cradled against Remus' chest, before following Sirius around the house. When they reached what was obviously a nursery, decorated in blue and white, Remus lowered the little boy into the crib, pulling the blanket up over him.

Sirius walked out after setting up a listening ward so he would know if Harry woke up. "Let's go use the study; we need to talk."

The study was large, and paneled entirely in dark stained oak, a massive desk dominating the far side of it, although there were several comfortable winged armchairs set in front of a fireplace, in which roared a large fire.

Sirius settled himself down into a chair, Remus sitting opposite him, before he got down to business. "Did Bones tell you I killed Dumbledore?"

It was patently clear from Remus' expression that she had not. "Is that why you're on suspension?"

"Yes, although I didn't kill him in cold blood in case that's what you're thinking; he tried to escape when he was being arrested and assaulted me, so I sent a stunning spell at him. Unfortunately I was angry and might have overpowered it; he hit a brick wall and his head cracked open like an egg."

"Fuck, Sirius!" Remus was more than a tiny bit aghast at the news. "You're going to be unpopular."

"Unless you're a Death Eater, then I'm certain I'm going to be quite the hero," Sirius quipped, a large grin on his face.

"Sirius, this isn't a laughing matter; James and Lily are dead and you've killed someone."

"Ask me if I give a shit, at least about killing that bastard," Sirius said, his expression becoming cold as the smile vanished. "Dumbledore betrayed my friends, and if Bones had thought differently, she wouldn't have ordered three crack teams out to intercept him.'

"What proof did you have?" Remus asked, accepting that Sirius had made a good point. Amelia Bones might have been a pain in the neck to many, but she was a fair and honest woman who played by the book.

"A letter from James; it appeared at the same time as the letter informing me he was dead. It stated that Dumbledore was his secret-keeper since Petey declined."

"That's hardly out and out proof, Sirius."

"True, but if Dumbledore had had nothing to hide, then why did he try to run?" Sirius then added another factor, which he saw as condemning. "And when I signed the papers to take over control of the Potter vaults, I was told that Dumbledore was listed to have been the latest curator of them in the event of James' death, so he had something to gain from their deaths."

"I still find it hard to believe."

"Then we'll simply have to wait for Bones to conclude her investigation." Sirius then moved on. "How do you fancy living somewhere rent free?"

Remus laughed, shaking his head at Sirius, as he jumped to the wrong conclusion. "You want me to be a bloody babysitter, don't you?"

"No, Lily appointed you as Harry's guardian and James me, so since nobody knows who died first, we get joint custody, unless of course one of us doesn't want it."

Remus thought about it for a moment, before shaking his head. "I'm certain Harry's a nice baby, but I don't want or need the responsibility, so I'm sorry, the answer's no."

**Author's Note: Some of the concepts and characters in the story are taken from NettieT's stories, which I love, and for which she has given me permission to do.**


	2. Innocent Until Proven Guilty

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole property of J K Rowling**

**Chapter 2: Innocent Until Proven Guilty **

"For goodness sake," Remus said, taking the bottle of firewhiskey away from Sirius. "You're supposed to be responsible for Harry, not getting smashed!"

"I've just buried my best friend," Sirius said, trying to grab the bottle back, only for Remus to hold it up out of the way, and, since he was several inches taller than Sirius, it was an easy thing to do. "I need a drink, and you don't need to worry about Harry, Andy has him."

"Andy who?"

"Andromeda Tonks."

Remus relaxed upon hearing this, well aware of who Andromeda Tonks was, although the 'Andy' reference had thrown him. "At least she's not likely to drop him on his head."

"Neither am I," Sirius growled, although he reddened, indicating that he had indeed done something wrong.

"What did you do?" Remus asked in a tired voice.

"Nothing, but I can't seem to put his nappy on so it stays on, and if he's not sleeping, he cries all the time." Sirius collapsed on to a seat. "I don't think I've slept in the last week." He looked up pitifully at Remus. "Please, Remus. I can't do this alone. I need help, preferably yours."

Remus tried to make Sirius see reason. "And what am I supposed to do about university? I still have almost a year to complete before I'm qualified."

"Bloody overachiever," Sirius groused. "I don't see why it was necessary for you to train to be both a Muggle teacher and a magical one."

"Because jobs in teaching are scarce in the magical world," Remus said, believing the reason to be very obvious. "And if I'm to eat, I need to work."

"But teaching Muggles…" Sirius might not have gone as far as sharing his family's out and out beliefs that Muggles were lower than vermin and should be exterminated, but he still had no real love for them.

"Sirius, they're not that bad, and speaking of Muggles and their ilk, why don't you ask Petey for a little help?"

Petey was their Muggle-born friend, Peter Pettigrew.

"I had him over yesterday and Harry screamed whenever he went near him, and besides, Petey would never leave his mother. And before you say there's enough room here for them both, forget it. She's worse than my bloody mother, and that's saying something."

Having met both Mrs. Pettigrew and Mrs. Black, Remus was hardly about to argue with Sirius on that point. "Fair enough. How about asking Mrs. Tonks for more help?"

"She works, as does Ted, and their nanny has said no to taking on another one, not even the supposed savior of the wizarding world."

"Sirius, don't call him that."

"Why not, it's in all the papers. Harry Potter, Savior, strikes down You-Know-Who." Sirius was unable to hide his disgust. "They've got no idea what happened, just that You-Know-Who has seemingly vanished. For all we know he could be bloody well hiding out. I mean it's not as if they found his wand; just clothing that might have belonged to You-Know… screw it… belonged to Voldemort."

Remus shivered. "Sirius…"

"Would you prefer I call him the Dark Lord?"

"What do you think?"

"Then let's just stick with Voldemort," Sirius said, more than a little drunk and upset. "And if he's dead, then why shouldn't I call him by his real name? I'm pretty certain he wouldn't hesitate to call me by mine."

"You've had too much to drink."

"And you've not had enough," Sirius countered, taking in his shabbily dressed friend. "And why aren't you more upset?"

"Calming draught," Remus said, before bringing up the obvious. "An upset werewolf isn't a pretty sight, and to be honest, hearing what I've been hearing today at the funerals, has been pretty upsetting."

"Such as…"

"People blaming you for this; saying that you obviously had something to cover up, and that's why you killed Albus."

"Let them talk," Sirius said, not really caring that much. "I know what the truth is and that's all that counts."

"Has Bones found anything out yet; why he could possibly have done this?"

"You still think he's innocent, don't you?"

"Maybe."

"But he was going to run."

Remus made a good argument for Dumbledore. "I'm not certain I wouldn't have done the same thing to be honest. Think about it, Sirius. How many Death Eaters did Albus help to lock away, Death Eaters who are now locked up in the very place Bones would have sent him? And without his magic, he was an old man, an old man who probably wouldn't have lasted a week in Azkaban."

"Then how do you explain James' letter?"

"It still doesn't mean Dumbledore betrayed them."

"I disagree," Sirius said, sticking to his belief.

Remus still continued to defend Dumbledore. "But I've never felt anything from him to suggest treachery, and you have to admit he was the first to take the fight to You-Know-Who. Don't pull faces at me; I'm not ready to call him by his real name."

"Why not? Everyone seems to think he's gone."

"True, but as you've said yourself, people are just making assumptions because Harry survived."

"Do you think Harry killed Voldemort?" Sirius rolled his eyes at Remus' third shiver. "Okay, Voldie, if it makes you anymore comfortable."

"No, I don't think he did," Remus said, having read all the newspapers reports, listened to Sirius, and to other people. "If he had, I'm fairly certain there would've been a body, just as there was when you killed Albus. Both men were powerful, equally so, I'd say."

"So what happened?"

"I honestly don't know but something did, or we both know Harry would be dead by now. What does Bones think?"

"That there was some sort of backlash from the curse that she thinks hit Harry, and it destroyed Voldie's body," Sirius said, easily slipping into his new way of naming Lord Voldemort. "She's of the opinion that he's still out there, floating around. Whatever did happen, I can confirm that the attacks on homes have all but died out. Bones said that there have only been two attacks by Death Eaters since it all happened."

"As compared to?"

"We were looking at anywhere between one and three a day sometimes," Sirius said, remembering how hard-worked his division had been. "We lost over seventeen hit wizards in the last twelve weeks alone, but none in the last week, and the same for Aurors, twenty-five, compared to one."

"So when do you go back to work?"

"I don't know," Sirius said, shrugging. "I still need to find some help for Harry."

"Sorry, don't look this way," Remus said, refusing before Sirius could ask.

"Fine," Sirius said, getting up. "Let yourself out. You know where the door is."

"Sirius…"

But it was too late, Sirius had vanished.

* * *

After two weeks of further investigation, other than the papers Sirius had provided her with, Amelia had turned up nothing to indicate that Dumbledore had betrayed the Potters. And so she had reinstated Sirius, and called a news conference.

Amelia ignored the waving hands, particularly the one belonging to the heavily made over blonde-haired reporter from the Prophet, who had been sitting in during the most recent Death Eater trials. "I won't be taking questions or comments until I've finished reading my statement."

The hands drooped, although the blonde-haired reporter was the last to take hers down.

"After a thoroughly exhaustive investigation, it has been determined that it is likely, although not conclusive, that Albus Dumbledore did play a role in the deaths of Lily and James Potter."

The blonde's hand shot back up. "Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. What proof do you have?"

Even though Amelia had said she would finish her statement first, she decided to clear this point up before she moved on. "Letters provided by Sirius Black…"

"Who can't be trusted."

"Molly, hush," a man's voice could be heard saying. "Sirius is our friend."

"Not any longer," the woman named Molly said. "And I don't care what Amelia Bones is saying, Albus would never have betrayed James and Lily, never!"

"And because he's from a supposedly bad family, it means Sirius would?"

Everyone turned to look at Andromeda Tonks, who had been watching from the rear.

"Well, does it, Molly Weasley?"

"He provided the evidence," Molly Weasley, the original speaker countered, although her cheeks were burning from Andromeda's attack on her.

"And I've had the evidence verified by Gringotts Bank," Amelia said, deciding to end it there. "The handwriting matches James Potter's as does the magical signature on the documentation. Unless of course, you wish to declare that the Bank could be wrong."

Molly knew better than to declare such a thing; offending a goblin was a tricky business and had resulted in more than one war. "Of course not."

"And, to continue my statement," Amelia said, making her voice forceful. "Albus Dumbledore was killed after attacking Auror Black, who used a stunning spell, which under normal circumstances would have been non-lethal. Unfortunately, since the spell hit Professor Dumbledore at pointblank range, he was catapulted into the wall behind him, resulting in his death. However, after reviewing Auror Black's actions, he has been cleared of any wrongdoing and was deemed to be acting within the scope of his job."

"So Black just gets away scot free?" Molly asked in disgust.

"I've made the decision that Auror Black is not guilty of any crime, so unless you have any evidence other than Auror Black's family connections, of which I'm well aware he's able to do little about, the matter of any misconduct is over."

"What about what his cousin's attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom?" Molly persisted, shaking off her husband's hand.

"Auror Black was actually the one who arrested Bellatrix Lestrange, and saved Alice Longbottom from the same fate as her husband," Amelia pointed out. "And he's no guiltier for his family's actions than I am, and should anyone, anyone at all, seek vengeance for what's happened to Frank Longbottom by attacking Auror Black, then they'll have me to answer to. Is that clear?"

When nobody responded, Amelia continued with her statement. "In conclusion, since Professor Dumbledore's guilt cannot be established beyond a shadow of a doubt, the case is to remain open, and no restitution may be sought against his monetary holdings unless something new comes to light. And so, his brother, Aberforth, has agreed with Gringotts Bank that Professor Dumbledore's vault be sealed until that situation changes, and he will not be seeking to have read Professor Dumbledore's will and its instructions followed until this matter is complete."

"So that's it?" Rita asked in disgust, her juicy story, not quite so juicy any longer. "Dumbledore may or may not be guilty, and Auror Black did nothing wrong."

"Nicely summed up," Amelia said brusquely, rather pleased the hideous reporter had been thwarted. "Are there are many more questions?"

"I have one," Molly Weasley said, again ignoring her husband's plea for her to back off. "What's going to happen to Harry Potter?"

"Auror Black has been named his guardian by James Potter's will, and as such he's agreed to take responsibility for Harry."

"That's disgusting," Molly said, a few voices joining hers to show their dissent. "His background is far from suitable for bringing up a child."

Andromeda again spoke up. "I believe that Madam Bones has already made it clear that Sirius' family is…"

"I was talking about Black's own background, not his family's this time," Molly said, butting in. "Everybody knows that he's a womanizer, and that his money managed to hush up a pregnancy."

Rita had reported on the rumor but until now had had no substantiated evidence. "Is it true, Auror Black? We all know you were dating Tracy Macintosh, and that she supposedly retired from the wizarding world to seek out Muggle employment. Or was it to have your baby?"

Well aware of Rita's rather poisonous pen, having been the subject of it on more than one occasion, Sirius decided come clean about the rumor. He therefore turned to Amelia and asked, "May I, Ma'am?"

"You may."

Sirius turned to Rita. "It's true that I did get Tracy pregnant." The crowd began whispering amongst themselves upon hearing the, until then unsubstantiated, rumor confirmed. "However, I didn't pay her off; she lost the baby at six weeks, and then backed out of our engagement. She then took a job overseas."

"And what about the womanizing?" Molly challenged, well aware that her ammunition in relation to the baby story had fizzled out.

"My romantic liaisons are my affair," Sirius said, not willing to divulge anything more than he had already done.

"Not if you're going to be taking care of someone as precious as Harry, they're not," Molly retorted. "And I intend to make sure you're stripped of his care, and that he finds a home with a suitable family."

"You mean a family like yours?" Andromeda asked coldly, more than a little annoyed at Molly for attacking her favorite cousin. "A family who can barely afford to feed the children they have, and that's reliant upon Hogwarts to provide financial backing so that your children might receive an education?"

"How dare you!"

"You dared," Andromeda countered. "It's not so nice when your private affairs are being aired in public, is it?"

"Enough, ladies," Amelia said, cutting in before a war of slander could begin. "Mrs. Weasley, if you believe that Auror Black would make an unfit parent, then you're welcome to lodge a protest, but please do so through the proper channels and not during my press conference. Is that clear?"

"It is," Molly said, backing down somewhat as Amelia fixed her with a steely glare.

Sirius smirked at Molly, well aware she would be unable to afford a lawyer to do so. "I'll see you in court, if you can afford it, of course."

"Black, you're dismissed," Amelia snapped. "Report to my office."

Sirius knew he was going to be dressed down for smart mouthing Molly, but he decided it would be worth whatever punishment Amelia drummed up for him.

He was to get two weeks cleaning duty, something no Auror enjoyed, since all work had to be done by hand and, not only that, but it was done in an area bypassed by the trainees on a daily basis so as to make your embarrassment complete. Sirius, however, being Sirius, was unfazed by this, and used his time to chat to the trainees, and getting a few addresses to add to his little black book.

* * *

Remus visited Sirius at home a few weeks later, although Sirius was far from welcoming.

"Come to gloat and agree with Molly Weasley?" Sirius said, holding Harry in his arms.

"Sirius, stop acting like a two year old," Remus said, taking Harry from Sirius and rearranging his nappy. "But she's right. You've not really fit to be taking care of Harry; it's obvious you've got no idea of what you're doing."

"Maybe not," Sirius admitted. "But I do love Harry, and I'm not letting that hag take him away from me. She's raised a petition and funding to try to get me removed as Harry's guardian and a suitable replacement found."

"And what are you doing about it?" Remus asked as he handed a sleepy Harry back to Sirius, who popped Harry into the small crib that he had placed next to his chair.

"I've hired a lawyer... Stefan Popham."

Remus whistled. "He's been credited with getting several Death Eaters, including Malfoy, off the hook. Do you really want your name associated with his?"

"I want my name associated with whomever can help me to keep Harry, including you."

"Sirius, I'm a werewolf; how's that going to help your case?"

"No-one else but us knows that," Sirius argued. "Please, Remus, if you won't do it for me, do it for Harry. If you don't, I'll admit, I'm worried about losing the case to be Harry's guardian, even with hiring Popham. Molly Weasley is a respected member of the wizarding world, as are you, and quite frankly, even though I'm an Auror, I'm not, thanks to my family and what everyone found out about me and Tracy. And if they find out the real truth about what happened to her, there's no way they'd let me keep Harry."

"Considering she's been dead for over two years, I don't see how they can."

"Popham knows," Sirius admitted. "Don't ask me how he found out but somehow he did; he actually pointed it out as being a black mark against me. Although if the worst comes to the worst, and I lose the case, Narcy's offered to put forth her candidacy to adopt Harry."

"Malfoy's wife?"

"Yes."

"James would come back from the beyond if that was to happen."

"Then help me to make it not happen."

Remus began to waver, the idea of Harry living with someone like the Malfoys not entirely palatable. "If I agree to it, then there would be rules."

Sirius bit back a groan; Remus was a stickler for rules, in spite of the fact that he had been part of one of the biggest group of troublemakers their school had ever known. "Fine. Name them."

"I'd want this study."

"Done."

"And although I'd be happy to share responsibility for Harry, I'm not here to provide babysitting services so that you can go out and have a shag, otherwise I'll never get any time to myself."

"You make it sound as if I'm always doing it."

Remus snorted very loudly and very derisively. "Sirius, as was quite correctly pointed out by Molly Weasley, you _are_ a womanizer: you've slept your way through half of Hogwarts, and I imagine, by now, most of BritAD. Of course you're always doing it."

"I'm just enjoying myself while I can, something you too should be doing."

"I prefer for my relationships to have lasted a little longer than twenty minutes before I have sex."

Sirius gave Remus just as a derisive a snort as his friend had just given him. "I clocked ten minutes when we last went out for a drink."

"That was a one-off and I haven't had sex since."

Sirius was surprised to hear it had been over six months for Remus, and he asked, "Sure you're not training to be a Muggle monk?"

"Piss off," Remus said crudely, while at the same time raising two fingers in a V shape at his friend.

"The sign for victory's the other way around."

"I know that, and on second thoughts, I've decided you can bugger off. I'm fairly certain that Harry's a nice enough child but I know what you're like and I'll end up lumbered with him."

Sirius, however, was desperate. "I'll pay off your student loans if you say yes."

"Fair enough," Remus said without hesitation, holding out his hand. "Let's shake on it."

Sirius shook the outstretched hand before suddenly something important occurred to him, especially as Remus had been so quick to change his mind. "Um, exactly how much do you owe?"

"About ten thousand Galleons."

Sirius grinned, thinking Remus was pulling his leg. "You're joking."

"No, I'm not. It's been a four year course in both Muggle and magical courses, and I've been pursuing English Literature and History as well as Defense in my magical coursework. We're talking about five thousand Galleons for the magical training, and a further five for the Muggle section." Remus grinned back at his friend. "Not such a good deal now, is it?"

"You sneaky little rat bastard," Sirius said, but being a man of his word, he was still going to hold Remus to his. "But agreed. I'll pay them off." It was now his turn to grin as Remus' face fell somewhat. "You thought I'd back out, didn't you?"

"Yes," Remus responded truthfully.

"Tough," Sirius said, smirking from ear to ear. "When can you move in?"

"I'll have to give a month's notice on the flat, otherwise it'll cost me a month's rent for nothing."

"I'll pay it," Sirius said without hesitation. "I've still got money left from my Auror Trust Fund thanks to my Uncle Ferdinand, since Mother refused pointblank to sign off on my accessing my trust fund to finance it."

"Will you still have money left after paying my college fees?"

"A bit, about fifteen thousand Galleons," Sirius said, naming what to most people would be a vast sum. "And once I turn twenty-five or Mother drops dead, hopefully the latter, I'll have access to the Black Family Funds."

"I'm surprised she hasn't given it away just to spite you," Remus remarked, well aware that there was no love lost between Sirius and his mother, Sirius having run away to live with James' family when he had turned sixteen.

"She can't. As a Black widow," here Sirius sniggered at the inference, "she gets a living allowance, but the rest is being held for me."

"And I imagine that's quite a tidy sum."

"It is," Sirius confirmed, although he decided not to fill Remus in on exactly how tidy a sum. "You can pick a bedroom when you come back with your stuff. Do you need one of these infernal house-elves to help you?"

"I can manage a housekeeping spell," Remus said, before hesitating, "although I'll need the cash upfront in order to sever the lease."

Sirius get up and headed for the desk, pulling out a black, velvet string-tied purse from the top drawer. "How much?"

"A hundred Galleons."

"That must have been a pretty basic place," Sirius remarked as he tapped the purse, dividing it and handing Remus the smaller of the two.

"It had everything I needed," Remus retorted, well aware that Sirius no doubt had been living somewhere a little nicer before he had moved into Grimmauld Square. "I'll be back by dinnertime."

* * *

Four weeks and one court battle later, Sirius and Remus walked away with Harry's custody, Remus' respectability being the deciding factor in awarding the custody. And now, thanks to his need to pay off his loans and despite his better judgment, he was stuck raising a child he had never wanted in the first place, with a friend who he doubted would truly keep his promises.


	3. Muggle Trouble

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole property of J K Rowling but the OCs are not.**

**Chapter 3: Muggle Trouble**

Remus hugged Alice Longbottom, who had once more come to his rescue. "Alice, I don't know how to thank you enough… again!"

"What's he been doing this time?"

"It's actually work," Remus said, this once his friend getting a free pass. "But he forgotten I'd got my history finals."

"No worries; just leave Harry here with me and pick him up tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"I'm fairly certain you'll want to let off steam and go for a drink with your girlfriend or your friends," Alice said, taking Harry out of Remus' arms. "Grief! He's getting heavy."

"Sirius keeps feeding him rubbish," Remus complained. "If I try and tell him that pizza is bad for Harry, he just says I'm taking away a childhood pleasure."

"I can't ever see Walburga Black giving a child pizza," Alice remarked, before smiling. "Perhaps that's why he's doing it."

"Well, if he doesn't stop, by the time Harry gets to Hogwarts we'll be rolling him in through the doors," Remus remarked, before checking his watch. "Sorry, but I have to disapparate otherwise I'll miss the exam."

"Go, and collect Harry tomorrow. I'll send a message to the Ministry to tell Sirius he's here in case he wants to collect him; if not he's fine overnight."

Remus kissed Alice on the cheek. "Thanks." He then disapparated.

* * *

The next morning, Remus walked into the breakfast room to discover a young woman wearing just Sirius' shirt and drinking coffee. It was almost beyond Remus. Despite his bad press, his family connections, and the fact he had killed Dumbledore, Sirius was still as popular as ever, if not more so now that he was considered something of a really bad boy.

"Good morning."

"Morning," the girl said, not batting an eyelid that it was obvious she had slept with Sirius. "You must be Remus Lupin."

Remus was tired and hung over, and more than a little angry that there was yet another woman in their home, so he let the girl have it with both barrels. "I am, although since you're simply a notch on Sirius' bedpost, I have no idea who you might be."

The girl got up and flounced off.

Sirius was scowling as he joined his friend after trying, and failing, to placate the girl before she left. "Could you have been any ruder?"

"Yes, I could have," Remus retorted. "I could've asked how much she charges by the hour, but I thought that being rude would be enough."

"Why?"

"Because I told you when I agreed to take Harry on that I'm not going to be used so that you can get your end away."

"But you weren't here, and neither was Harry."

"You should've collected him!"

"So could you."

"It was my very last exam and I wanted to let off some steam, something Alice Longbottom thankfully understood."

Sirius smirked. "Is there something going on between you?"

Remus put down his mug of tea. "Not everyone is interested in being a bottom feeding scumbag like you."

"So that's a no then?"

"Of course, it's a no," Remus growled, getting fed up of Sirius' obsession with sex. "This may come as a surprise but the rest of the world doesn't revolve around their next conquest. Some of us take our responsibilities seriously, and speaking of which, we've got an appointment tomorrow evening at a nursery school with a crèche where I'm intending to enroll Harry."

"You can't just do things without telling me."

"I've just told you," Remus said, pinching his nose as the headache from his hangover seemed to suddenly worsen.

"Where is it?"

"Solihull."

"Never heard of it."

"It's in the West Midlands," Remus said, not surprised Sirius had no idea. "But if I remember rightly, you're another one of those people who believes the world ends outside of London."

Sirius reddened. "Just because I prefer London to anywhere else doesn't make me a bad person."

"No, it makes you narrow minded," Remus said, before continuing to explain about the school. "It's on the same campus where I've been offered a junior teaching position if my results are as good as expected, and so I thought…"

"It's a Muggle nursery school?" Sirius asked, his voice dripping with as much disdain as Remus' voice had been a moment ago.

"Yes," Remus said, not surprised by Sirius' attitude. "I think it better if Harry is spared the limelight of the wizarding world and has a more sheltered upbringing before he begins at Hogwarts. I don't want him turning out to be like Lucius Malfoy, or James, for that matter."

"Hey!"

"Be honest," Remus said, not put off by Sirius' disgruntled look. "James was my friend but I'll be the first to admit he had a serious attitude problem when it came to looking down at others, or at least he had until Lily took him in hand."

"Okay, so perhaps he did, but I still don't want Harry going to a Muggle school."

"Tough," Remus said, not prepared to back down on the issue. "The cut-off dates for registering at all nurseries and crèches, both wizarding and Muggle, were three days ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did. I left you a pile of potential schools and crèches on the desk in your room, which included wizarding options; options that you obviously ignored in favor of shagging a load of miss no-names who you're probably going to see once or twice and then dump."

Sirius went red but found himself in the unenviable position of being unable to argue, since Remus was right. "I don't see why I need to go, since you've obviously already made up your mind."

"Because you co-parent, and the school needs to see you," Remus said, getting up and grabbing a couple of slices of toast the house-elves had cooked. "Don't forget, five-thirty here."

"Where are you going?"

"To collect our ward."

* * *

**The Next Evening**

Sirius looked around the schoolyard. "What's that?"

"A climbing frame, but it's for the junior children, not Harry, as it's too dangerous," Remus said, shifting a babbling Harry to his other hip, "although I imagine right now he'd probably bounce if he fell off."

"He's not that big."

"Sirius, we're buying clothes for four year olds," Remus remarked, still frustrated from the previous day. "And so I've told the house-elves you're not allowed to feed him anymore."

"You can't…"

"If you can't behave like an adult, then yes I can." Remus turned on his friend. "I'm only twenty-one, and I've got a responsibility I never wanted, but unlike you, who claims to want Harry, I've actually done the right thing and tried to do what's best for him, which includes trying to deal with his education."

"He doesn't have to go to school yet."

"True, but I think it best if he does, and you know very well that it's not really school at his age, more of a crèche. And at least this way I can keep an eye on him during the day, and it frees you up during the week."

Sirius was about to complain when he saw an attractive woman coming towards them. "Do you know who she is?"

"Yes, she's the headmistress, and I swear I'll string you up by the balls if you ask for her phone number."

"Her what?"

Remus then realized with relief that Sirius had no idea what a phone number was. "Nothing, just behave."

"Did anyone ever tell you you're a nag?"

"No, since it's only with you I ever feel the need to nag!" Remus hissed, plastering on a smile as the headmistress came over and offered her hand.

* * *

Although Sirius had moaned continually about Harry attending the school, right up until the day Harry started, once Harry had begun attending nursery, as Remus had said, it made things run more smoothly in their household, Remus being responsible for Harry during the week and Sirius during the weekend.

Everything went well, even after Remus had moved to teach at a senior school not affiliated with Harry's school, or at least it did until after the end of Harry's fourth and final year...

* * *

"Uncle Remus?"

"Yes, Harry?" Remus asked, looking up.

Harry shoved a note at him. "My mate's parents sent this."

Remus took and opened up the letter to read it.

"So can I go?" Harry asked impatiently before Remus had barely seen the first line.

After reading the letter, Remus nodded. "I don't see why not, as long as either Sirius or I take you and speak to Mr. and Mrs. Gloucester before leaving you there."

"Why?" Harry whined, embarrassed at the idea. "It's not as if David's mum and dad are gonna kill me or anything... they're Muggles."

"I know that, but we're still responsible for you, and one of us will therefore accompany you that night."

"I could catch the Knight Bus," Harry said, not wanting to be chaperoned.

"No." Remus was adamant; even though Harry had a training wand, which he could use to summon the Knight Bus, a form of transportation for wizards, Remus was not about to let his charge do so. "Let me check my calendar." After doing so, he confirmed that he would take Harry, unless of course Harry did not want to go.

Harry knew only too well that Remus would put down his foot and say no if he whined or complained too much, so he agreed. "Thanks."

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

Sirius was patrolling on Diagon Alley when he noticed a massive crowd outside of Ollivanders. "Excuse me, let us through."

Hearing the name 'Harry Potter' as he pushed through the crowd with his partner, Sirius scowled at the sight of his godson standing with a wand in his hand. "Harry, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at David's house."

Harry froze at the sight of his godfather, only responding when Sirius repeated his question. "I was there but I thought I'd bring Ley and David here to show them that I'm really a wizard. Ley said his mother told him that there's no such thing as magic."

Sirius turned to his partner, a junior Auror who had joined his division a few weeks earlier and was openly gawping at Harry. "Kevin, get rid of this lot. I need to find out who else Harry's blabbed to."

"Yes, Sir."

"Are you a magic pig?" one of the two boys with Harry asked.

Sirius turned to face the overweight, blonde haired boy. "A what?"

"A policeman," Harry said, translating for Sirius, before turning to his friend. "Yeah, he's one of our world's coppers. He heads up B Division in BritAD." While Sirius still played fast and loose in his romantic life, he was deadly serious about his work and had been promoted twice in his career, now heading his own division.

"What's that mean?" the same boy asked.

"It means you're in trouble," Sirius said, before shaking his head in dismay at Harry. "I should never have let Remus send you to a damn Muggle school, making Muggle friends and bringing them here."

"It was just a bit of fun."

"And now it's over." Sirius pointed at the three boys in turn as he said, "You, you, and you, you're coming with me."

"I haven't paid Mr. Ollivander for my wand," Harry said quickly, pulling a small purse out of his pocket.

Sirius ignored Harry and spoke to Garrick Ollivander. "How much does he owe you?"

"Seven Galleons, Auror Black," Ollivander said, before placing the wand back in its box. "It's quite an unusual wand; as I was about to tell Mr. Potter, its brother gave him that scar."

"Then he's not having it," Sirius said firmly, not about to let Harry own a wand that was linked in some way to Voldemort.

"I'm afraid the wand chooses the wizard, Auror Black, you should know that. And I doubt that any other wand would be suitable for Mr. Potter… we tried many before we settled on this one."

Sirius threw down on to the counter seven Galleons from his own pocket. "We'll take it for the moment but we may be back. Harry, pick it up and march."

As Harry followed Sirius out, the crowd still milling around and pointing at Harry, David whispered to his best friend, "So it's true; you really are a sort of superhero."

"I told you I was."

Sirius stopped walking, deciding to put a stop to that line of thought immediately. "Harry's not a superhero; he's just a boy who got lucky and who, right now, is in big trouble."

Harry stuck out his tongue at Sirius the moment his back was turned, his other friend, Ley, being even ruder and sticking up two fingers at Sirius, making Harry giggle.

After hearing the giggling, and guessing they were up to some sort of mischief, Sirius came to a halt once again. "Harry, walk in front with your friends. We're going to the Ministry where we're all going to have a little chat."

* * *

**The Ministry of Magic**

Once inside an interrogation room, Sirius sat across the desk from the three boys. "I'm going to keep this informal for now."

Harry let out a sigh of relief. "Are you going to tell Uncle Remus?"

"Yes."

"Damn!"

Sirius turned his wand on Harry, and two seconds later Harry was spitting out soap bubbles. "Use language like that again, young man, and you'll be grounded. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Harry managed to get out around the soapy mess in his mouth.

Sirius then ignored Harry who began spitting violently, trying to get the taste of soap out of his mouth. "I want your full names."

"I don't have to tell you," Ley said, crossing his arms. "You're not a real policeman, just a magic one."

"And as a magical policeman I can do things your policemen can't," Sirius said, aiming his wand into the air, causing a light shower of rain to fall to the side of the desk before be vanished the water. "Now that's just a child's spell, so please, stop messing me around and give me your full name before I feel the need to use something stronger."

"David Carl Gloucester," the boy with the black hair and a pug nose hurriedly spat out, his voice shaking.

Sirius, of course, knew David well. "I know. It's your friend's name I don't know."

"He's Dudley Dursley, I mean Evans," David offered up almost as quickly as he had his own name.

"Dursley?" Sirius said, the name ringing a bell. "Dursley… where've I heard that name before?"

Dudley shrugged. "I dunno. Is it true that Harry's last name isn't really James?"

"Yes," Sirius said, he and Remus having used the name to keep Harry's location a secret since reporters like Rita Skeeter had done their best to track their ward down for photos and a story. "His real name, as I imagine he's already told you by now, is Harry Potter, and he's famous in our world because he survived an attack by an evil wizard intent on ruling us."

"And he can really do magic?" David asked in a wonder-filled voice, a little in awe of Harry after that morning.

"Yes," Sirius said, before bringing the conversation back under his control. "How did you get here today?"

"A wicked bus," Dudley said, his eyes shining. "It was huge and had a chandy thingy hanging in it. It was real cool."

"And is supposed to be for wizards only," Sirius said, before growling at his godson, "Harry, you know better than anyone that our world is supposed to be hidden from Muggles."

"Yeah, but they didn't believe me."

"And I still don't believe you can do magic just because he can," Dudley said, in spite of Sirius' claim Harry could.

"Can I prove it?" Harry asked Sirius.

"No."

"Come on," Harry begged. "I know what you and Uncle Remus and Dad did when you were at school; I only wanna show him a simple spell. Please..."

Aware that he and his friends had done far worse than Harry had today, Sirius relented at the plaintive look and handed Harry the boxed wand he had just bought. "You can show them a lighting spell, but that's it."

"Okay." Harry excitedly took the wand. "Lumos."

Dudley snorted in disdain at the light that came from the end of the wand. "My Star Wars lightsaber does better than that."

"Bet it can't do this," Harry said, aiming his wand at an empty chair. "Confringo."

As the chair was blasted across the room, Sirius grabbed Harry's wand out of his hand. "You're grounded for a week, and where the hell did you learn that spell?"

"I saw you practicing it the other week in the dueling room," Harry reminded him, although he had had no idea he would be able to replicate the spell when he had decided to show off.

"Now that's a wicked spell," Dudley said, before adding something that was about to get Harry into even more trouble. "Just think of how much lunch money we could get if I could do…" He then trailed off as he realized what he had given away in his excitement.

"Lunch money?" Sirius asked in a taut voice. "Lunch money, Harry?"

"It was a joke," Harry said desperately.

"And I think you're lying, although I could always bring Remus in to check," Sirius warned.

"That's not fair!"

"Tough," Sirius said, before turning back to Dudley and his friend. "Under the circumstances, I've decided that I'm going to take you home and then obliviate you."

"You can't kill me!" David screamed, jumping up out of his chair in alarm.

Harry put him right. "He's not. He's just gonna wipe your memory so you won't remember me showing magic."

"And right now I need to sort out some transportation." Sirius then excused himself, returning a short time later with a piece of rope. "I need you all to hold on to this tightly and don't let go until I tell you that you can."

"Why?" Dudley asked, looking at the rope in confusion.

"It's called a portkey and it's another way of transporting people places," Sirius explained, before saying, "Go on. Hold on."

Very reluctantly the boys did as they were told, all three yelping as Sirius operated the portkey, which placed them in an alleyway close to Harry's school. "David, since I know where you live, we'll go there first."

After a brief discussion with the Gloucesters, Dudley watched in shock as Sirius obliviated them and then herded him and Harry out of the house. "You're gonna do that to me?"

"Yes," Sirius said, before asking, "Where do you live?"

"The next row, number 14," Harry offered up when Dudley said nothing.

When a panicked Dudley went to run, he found himself frozen in place, and Sirius looked around. "Which back garden is it, Harry?"

"The one with the shed in it, there," Harry said, stepping away from Sirius. "I can walk."

"You're being side-apparated," Sirius said, not about to let Harry out of his sight. "Hand."

After taking Harry's hand and grabbing Dudley by the shoulder, Sirius then disapparated, reappearing under a weeping willow, which afforded him some privacy as he released the freezing spell on Dudley, who ran indoors, screaming for his mother.

"You are in so much trouble," Sirius warned Harry before he ran after Dudley, only to draw to a halt at the sight of the woman who had come hurrying into the kitchen. "You!"

"Black," Petunia Evans spat back as she hugged a shaking Dudley to her. "Your sort aren't welcome in my house." She glanced at Harry, who had followed Sirius into the house. "Come away from him, Harry. He's dangerous."

"I'm with him," Harry had to admit.

She glanced at Sirius' dark hair and back at Harry's. "He's your son?"

"No, he's your nephew, and I'm here because he told your son about magic."

Harry quickly put two and two together. "Ley's my cousin?"

"Yes," Sirius snapped, glaring at Petunia, who he had only met three times and loathed. "But your aunt wanted nothing to do with you after I told her Lily had died."

"And I don't want my son having anything to do with him ever again now I know who the brat is," Petunia snarled violently at Sirius, surprising Harry who had thought Dudley's mother pleasant the few times he had met her, or he had at least up until then.

"You're not going to remember who Harry is," Sirius warned. "But you should know that your son has likely been stealing from other children, a memory I'm going to leave intact."

"Don't bother. My son would never do anything of the sort."

"Whether you believe me or not, I'm going to be speaking to Harry about this, and then his school if I find out it's true, and so you'll need to know too," Sirius warned, before aiming his wand at Petunia and a shaking Dudley. "Obliviate."

Harry waited while Sirius told his relatives that the three boys had gone to London without permission, that he believed they were all taking other children's money, and that he would likely be in touch. He then grimaced as Sirius grabbed him by the shoulder and disapparated, taking them home.

The moment they reappeared, Harry denied the allegation of stealing. "It's not true about the lunch money."

"Let's go have a chat with Remus," Sirius said, steering Harry towards the study where he knew Remus would likely be holed up.

Remus was already opening the door, having heard Sirius and Harry. "What's going on?"

Sirius swiftly filled Remus in on their charge's morning. "But that's not the worst of it. One of his best friends is Dudley Dursley."

Unlike Sirius, Remus made the connection immediately. "You're kidding."

"No, but we know him better as Ley Evans," Sirius said, not surprised they had never made the connection. "It seems as if Petunia Dursley isn't married to Vernon any longer, although I never stopped long enough to ask that."

"Just tell me what happened."

So Sirius finished recounting what had happened, including Dudley's comment about the lunch money and Harry and his friends denying it.

Remus turned his amber-flecked gaze on Harry. "Is it true, Harry? Are you taking other children's lunch money?"

Harry dropped his head. "Yes, but…"

"No buts," Remus barked. "Why? It's not as if you need it."

"You wouldn't let me have a CD player."

"That's no excuse for stealing," Remus said, completely astounded by what he was hearing. "I thought we'd brought you up better than that, Harry."

"It wasn't stealing exactly," Harry said, trying to defend himself. "If they paid up, they didn't get beat up by Ley, so it was sort of protection money, like they do on Muggle TV."

"So you were not only stealing but hitting children too?" Remus asked furiously.

Harry swallowed hard as he realized he had just dug himself a deeper hole but he knew if he lied Remus would know; instead, a little afraid of what was probably going to happen if he owned up, he started to cry.

Remus, however, was not moved by his tears. "Answer the question, Harry."

"Yes," Harry blubbered, before yelping as he found himself tugged across Remus' knee, something that had only ever happened once before when Harry had snuck out of the house during the night and gotten lost in London, frightening both Sirius and Remus when they had discovered he was missing.

After six sharp taps, Remus tempering his blows as he didn't want to hurt Harry, merely shock and embarrass him, Remus set an openly sobbing Harry back on to his feet. "Go to your room while I talk to Sirius."

Harry did as he was told, and Sirius dropped into a seat. "I blame that Muggle school."

"Sirius, he was doing perfectly fine until now."

"As far as we know," Sirius said, wondering what else they had no idea about. "He could've been stealing for years."

"I doubt it," Remus said, although his voice reflected his uncertainty. "I think we need to find out when Harry became friends with Dudley; he's been friends with David since infant school, so I don't think that's where the bad influence came from."

"I'll go back."

"I'll go," Remus countermanded. "I'll know if he's telling the truth, unlike you."

"I'd wear a glamour," Sirius warned. "And pretend to be someone who isn't a wizard!"

"Give me the address."

* * *

By the time Remus returned, after pretending to be a school inspector investigating the allegation of theft, he had discovered that Vernon had divorced Petunia to marry his secretary, and she had moved to the West Midlands to be close to a second cousin who had been able to rent her a house and find her a job. Harry had therefore only met his cousin at the end of his second year, Dudley gradually making friends with Harry and David during third year.

Sirius meanwhile had discovered that it had been Dudley who had goaded Harry into showing off about his magic when he had said Harry was lame.

"At least we don't have to worry about Harry being influenced by the Dursley boy anymore, not now he's about to start at Hogwarts," Remus said.

"If I was you, I'd be more worried about Harry ending up somewhere unsuitable, like Slytherin, and their influence," Sirius said, more than a little concerned by how sneaky his godson had been. "And if he does, I know who I'm blaming."

"Me, I get it," Remus said, before revealing some surprising news. "But if he does, at least I'll be around to…"

Sirius interrupted. "You're going to Hogwarts?"

"Headmistress McGonagall has finally convinced the Board to remove Binns, and I'll be taking his place as well as taking over as the Head of Gryffindor. I received a letter this morning offering me the position, and although two weeks' doesn't exactly give enough time to serve my notice at Smith's Wood, I've decided to take the job anyway. I'll just be a little late starting, something the Headmistress has assured me isn't a problem."

"Speaking of problems, does she know about your furry little one?"

"Yes, and as long as I take Wolfsbane and lock myself away here on the night of the full moon, the Headmistress is happy."

"I bet Harry won't be," Sirius said, grinning as he thought about the shock Harry was to receive when he discovered he was going to continue to be monitored.

"No doubt you will be, as it'll leave you free to bring women back willy nilly." Remus had long ago despaired of Sirius ever curtailing his libido.

"I haven't had a girlfriend in weeks," Sirius protested.

"Probably because you've slept with everyone you know," Remus said drily, before getting up. "But even so, just try and behave during term time. One miscreant in this household is enough."

Sirius' response was to stick out his tongue and vanish, leaving Remus to go and inform Harry of the remainder of his punishment, Remus deciding to ground Harry until he started at Hogwarts in two weeks' time.


	4. Forming Alliances

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole property of J K Rowling but the OCs are not.**

**Chapter 4: Forming Alliances**

Harry stood by while Sirius hefted his trunk on to the train. "Thanks."

Sirius held out his hand, aware that Harry would baulk at a hug. "Good luck, Harry. And for heaven's sake, behave!"

"I will, I will," Harry said, somewhat belligerently as Sirius shook his hand, before he was dragged into a hug, Sirius deciding to hell with what Harry thought. "Uncle Sirius, everyone's looking!"

"I'm pretty certain they'll all be hugged too."

Harry glanced over to where a blonde boy was being kissed by his mother, although his father stood aloofly to one side, his back to Harry. "By their mums like that kid there!"

"Well, since you haven't got a mum, that's me," Sirius reminded him as he ruffled his hair, not bothering to tell Harry exactly who the blonde boy was. "Make sure you write."

"With what?"

"You'll see when you get to school," Sirius said, grinning. "Call it a gift for your good behavior over the last fortnight."

"I couldn't misbehave; I was stuck in my room," Harry lied, well aware that unlike Remus, Sirius would never figure out that he was being untruthful.

"Well, if you don't want it…"

"No, no, I do," Harry said quickly, wondering if he was finally going to get the owl he had been asking for, a Northern Hawk Owl he had seen in Diagon Alley.

"Then keep your nose clean during the journey," Sirius said, stepping back so that Harry could climb onboard after his trunk. "And don't get into any fights."

"I've never been in a fight in my life," Harry said, never having needed to, his cousin having provided the muscle in the trio of which Harry had been part.

"I know, and I'd like for you to keep it that way; I don't want to have to come and arrest you."

Harry grinned. "It'd get me a day off school."

"And a trip to Azkaban," Sirius countered.

Harry knew too well that Sirius would never lock him up there, and so he merely smiled. "Yeah, right."

"All aboard!"

"Just behave," Sirius reiterated, slamming shut the door and stepping back. "And try not to get into Slytherin."

"As if," Harry responded scornfully.

"Hold that train!"

Sirius turned around to see Alice Longbottom hurrying up the platform, Neville almost tripping over his cloak as he hurried along behind his mother, and Sirius swung open the carriage door and grabbed Neville's trunk off the trolley. "Let me."

"Thanks, Sirius," Alice said, before waving at Harry. "Hello, Harry."

"Hi, Aunt Alice," Harry said, liking the woman who quite often took care of him when Remus or Sirius was unable to do so. "Hi, Nev."

"Hi, Harry," Neville said as he was pulled against Alice. "Mum!"

Harry grinned at Sirius, who returned it, before Sirius gently said, "I think they're waiting on you, Alice."

"Up you go," Alice said, releasing Neville. "And be a good boy."

"I will, Mum," Neville promised, standing up at the window beside Harry. "Bye, Mum, Bye, Uncle Sirius."

"Bye, Nev," Sirius said, winking at him as the train gave a whistle and began to pull out of the station. "See you, Harry."

"See you, Uncle Sirius."

As soon as they had finished waving to their respective caregivers, Neville dropped down on to his seat and pulled three Galleons out from his pocket. "So, did you get it for me?"

Harry nodded and opened up the Muggle style backpack he had with him, tugging out a giant bar of Muggle chocolate. "I don't think I'm going to be able to sneak out of Hogwarts as easily as I did out of the house, so you'll have to make do until Christmas."

"I wish I'd asked for two now," Neville said, handing over the three Galleons. "How did you manage to get out?"

Harry smirked. "I don't know where Uncle Remus was, just that he was going to be out all day, and Uncle Sirius had a friend over. He said they'd be in his room and that I should alert Cumberbatch if anything was wrong, and Cumberbatch would tell him."

"And instead you snuck out?"

Harry nodded. "The shops are only five minutes away, so I was only gone twenty minutes."

"Well, you won't be able to sneak out from Hogwarts."

"I might, but if not, maybe we may be able to make some friends who can get this sort of thing for us," Harry said, having his own bar of chocolate safely stashed in his trunk, hidden below his books and clothing in the false bottom of the trunk.

"I dunno. How many Muggleborns do you think will be in our year?"

"No idea," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't really care, not unless any of them can do me any favors."

Neville, unlike Remus and Sirius, was well aware that, in spite of their young ages, Harry had had quite a set-up going at his school with Dudley and David. They had provided, courtesy of David's elder brother, John, who had made the suggestion and then taken a cut: cigarettes to the small proportion of fourth years who had tried smoking thanks to an elder sibling and were now already hooked; sick notes to get out of games and swimming, again thanks to John; chocolates and sweets to those kids whose parents were rather strict and didn't allow them any; and magazines of a rather risqué nature to a few of the older boys. Neville had also been aware of the lunch money thefts, although he had tried to talk Harry out of pursuing this course of action.

And now Neville pointed out something very important. "Yes, but even if they can do you any favors, why would they? We're just first years."

"Yeah, but I'm Harry Potter," Harry reminded Neville. "And I don't see why I shouldn't use my name to get me what I want."

"You'll get into trouble," Neville warned.

"They won't expel me," Harry said rather boastfully, and he frowned as the door opened and a redhead stuck his head in. "What?"

"Everywhere else is full. Do you mind?" the redhead asked the somewhat familiar looking plump, dark-haired boy with vivid green eyes.

Harry did but he had little choice except to agree. "I suppose not."

The boy closed the door behind him and sat down. "My name's Ron, Ron Weasley." It was then that he realized why the dark haired boy had seemed familiar; he had seen a rare picture of him in the Daily Prophet several weeks ago. "Morgana, you're Harry Potter!"

"Yes, I am," Harry said, before nodding towards Neville. "And he's Neville Longbottom."

The two boys nodded and everything went silent for a moment, until Harry decided to pump the redhead for a bit of information, Harry completely unaware of Ron's mother's attempt to have him separated from his godfather and Ron's connection to her. "So is this your first year?"

"Yeah."

"Any brothers or sisters?"

Neville hid a smile as he knew what Harry was up to.

"Yeah," Ron said, his smile fading somewhat. "Five brothers and one sister."

Harry's eyes widened. "That's a lot."

"I know and Mum keeps on telling me I've got to be just like Bill and Charlie… they're my eldest brothers and did really well at Hogwarts. Percy is a know-it-all and I don't know why he wasn't in Ravenclaw. But Fred and George are okay, unless they're playing tricks on you."

"And your sister?"

"Ginny's still at home."

Harry dismissed the girl from his mind as well as Percy. "What year are Fred and George in?"

"Third – they're twins."

"Ravenclaw?"

"Gryffindor," Ron said, having no idea that he was being pumped for information by Harry. "All our family's been in Gryffindor; I just hope I don't end up in Slytherin."

Harry had to hide a laugh behind a cough; he had no idea how you were sorted but he knew that this boy was no Slytherin. "Yeah, me too. Uncle Sirius' head would probably blow up if I did."

Neville laughed, well aware of how much Sirius hated Slytherin. "And my Gran would kill me."

"So what house do you want to get into?" Ron asked.

"Gryffindor," Neville said, and then he sighed. "But I'm not sure I'm brave enough."

"Bill said it doesn't matter what house you end up in, just that you try hard." Ron grimaced. "Easy for him… he's finished school as head boy, did well in exams, _and_ was in Gryffindor."

The group was interrupted by the trolley witch, Harry buying sweets and quite uncharacteristically offering some to Ron, although Neville suspected Harry's motives had something to do with Fred and George and their ability to go into Hogsmeade, the village third years and over were allowed to visit.

* * *

The group's next visit was by a blonde boy, who had two larger boys flanking him. Harry immediately stood up, recognizing the boy from the platform. "Hello."

"Draco Malfoy," the blonde boy said, holding out his hand as he also nodded behind him. "This is Goyle and Crabbe."

"Harry Potter," Harry said as he shook the proffered hand. "But I suppose you already know that."

"Yes," Draco said, looking beyond Harry. "Who are your friends?"

Harry caught the faint tone of condescension in Draco's voice, but decided to ignore it. "This is my best friend, Neville Longbottom, and this is Ron…" Harry turned back to Ron. "What's your last name again?"

"Weasley," Ron said, looking back at Draco with as much disdain as Draco was heaping on him.

"You might not want to get mixing with the wrong sort, Potter," Draco sneered, well aware of the name of Weasley.

"I hardly consider Nev the wrong sort," Harry said, omitting Ron from his statement. He then cleverly turned the snub into a polite gesture and a dismissal. "But thanks for the warning. I'll see you around, Malfoy."

"See you around, Potter," Draco returned, nodding his head towards the corridor, the two boys behind him following him out.

Ron sneered as Harry closed the door. "His dad works with mine; he's supposed to be a bit dodgy."

Harry again already knew Sirius also held the same opinion. "It doesn't mean Malfoy is the same."

Neville suspected that Harry was keeping his options open as far as connections were concerned, even if it meant annoying Sirius by doing so. "Yeah; it's not as if we know him."

"Suppose," Ron said, backing down as both Harry and Neville defended Draco. "So do you like quidditch?"

The conversation changed to talk about the wizarding sport of quidditch, although Harry changed it again when he saw how bored Neville looked, his friend one of the worst people he knew on a broomstick.

After a few more subject changes, including Ron showing off his pet rat that Harry thought, but did not say, was rather lame, it was announced that they would be arriving at Hogwarts. Harry therefore reluctantly pulled on his cloak over his uniform and stood up, grabbing his backpack as this was something he was not about to be parted from. "Uncle Sirius said we have to do some boat ride or something to get us to the school and then we'll be sorted. But he wouldn't tell me how, no matter how much I begged."

"Fred said I've got to wrestle a troll."

"And you believed him?" Harry asked, looking at Ron as if he was mad. "You can't honestly think they'd let a first year get into a fight with a troll."

Now he came to think about it, it was a bit ridiculous and Ron went red. "I didn't think about it like that."

Harry wondered if Ron ever actually thought about things, having said a few off things during the journey that he had noticed Neville trying not to laugh about.

* * *

As the train drew to a halt, Harry opened up the door and jumped off, waiting for Neville to join him, Ron also falling into step with them.

Ron's mouth opened wide moments later as he spotted a man calling for all first years. "Bloody hell! Look at the size of him."

"His name's Hagrid," Harry said, Remus having told him about the giant sized groundskeeper, although this was the first time Harry had actually set eyes on him. "He looks after animals and the grounds and stuff."

Herded towards little boats by Hagrid, just as Sirius had said they would be, Ron was shunted into one with a bushy haired girl and a boy with an Irish accent. Harry and Neville found themselves in one with Draco, who had ditched his friends.

They had barely pushed off into the darkness when Draco began to question Harry. "Is it true you got into trouble for sneaking Muggles into Diagon Alley?"

"Yeah," Harry said, seeing no point in denying it. "I was grounded for two weeks."

"By Sirius?"

"Nah, by my Uncle Remus."

"Why did you bring Muggles in?"

Harry again caught the condescending tone in Draco's voice, which he ignored once more. "Because they didn't believe I was famous and could do magic. Uncle Sirius almost had a heart attack when I cast a blasting spell to show them."

Draco sniggered. "Perhaps he'll die early and then I can inherit."

"What?" Harry blurted out in confusion.

"I'm his cousin's son," Draco said, surprised Harry was unaware of this given that Sirius was his godfather. "My mum is his cousin, Narcissa Black Malfoy."

"Yeah, I know," Harry said, Sirius having at least told him this much, although today was the first time he had seen Draco and his parents in the flesh.

"So why did you act as if you didn't?"

Harry was not about to say that Sirius had made it quite clear he loathed the Malfoys, although he had not told Harry why. Harry did, however, disabuse Draco of his misconception about who would get Sirius' money. "Because I know you're wrong; you won't be getting Uncle Sirius' money, I will. He's made me his heir just in case he never gets marries."

"But he can't…"

"Well, he went to see the goblins and they told him he could; he found some sort of something," Harry could not remember the word 'clause', "that let him do it."

"Father won't be pleased," Draco said, before shrugging. "I don't know why, it's not as if I'll miss the money; Father has pot loads."

"So do I," Harry boasted. "But I can't have most of it until I'm older, or I get married."

Draco looked over to Neville. "You?"

"I don't know," Neville said, going on to explain why. "Mum said I don't need to worry about things like that just yet."

"Oh," Draco said, deciding to ask his father if Neville was worth bothering with, although he knew Harry definitely was, having been told by his father to seek him out and befriend him. "So what house do you want to be in?"

"Gryffindor," Neville said without hesitation. "Like my parents."

"I need to get into Gryffindor too," Harry said, reiterating what he had told Neville. "Otherwise Uncle Sirius will go mad."

"I'm definitely going to be in Slytherin," Draco said, wondering how Harry would take this news. "So we probably won't be friends."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Houses don't mix."

"So let's be different," Harry said, almost as if he was daring Draco to be his friend.

Remembering his father's words, Draco held out his hand again. "Agreed." After Harry had shaken it, Draco then glanced at Neville and offered his hand once more. "Longbottom?"

If he had not known Harry, it was likely that Neville would have taken a very different course when offered the hand of a Malfoy; as it was he decided that he too was going to take a chance, and so took Draco's hand. "Agreed."

Seeing they were almost nearing their destination, Draco added a proviso as he spotted a redhead in the light of a boat that was close to them. "But not Weasley."

Harry weighed up who might give him more leverage in this new world and decided upon Draco. "Agreed."

Draco again looked to Neville. "Agreed?"

Neville asked a question instead of agreeing. "Can't I be friends with both of you?"

"No, so pick."

Neville glanced over at Ron and, just before they docked, said, "Agreed."


	5. Back in Business

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole property of J K Rowling but the OCs are not.**

**Chapter 5: Back in Business**

When they finally got inside and discovered what was to happen, Harry was amazed as everyone else by the Sorting Hat, and he was more than a little nervous when it came to his turn, especially after Neville's unexpected sorting. Harry sat down on the stool that the Hat had been placed on, and, he jumped as the Hat spoke to him after Harry had placed it somewhat apprehensively on his head. However, he guessed that only he could hear it, since he had not been able to hear the Hat speaking to anyone else who had been sorted earlier.

"Ah, yes, Harry Potter, the boy who's been influencing his friend." The Hat then caught Harry's thought about Neville and the Hat's decision. "Of course, it's your fault. I doubt very much Neville Longbottom would be quite the boy he is today without your sway."

"Did you send Neville to Slytherin because of me?" Harry thought, guessing correctly that by reading minds was how the Hat knew how to sort them.

"Yes. Because, from what I've seen of your interactions with him, I decided before you had even reached me, that a devious, calculating young boy like you would do very well in Slytherin, but that you would also need your more sensible and steadfast friend," the Hat told Harry. "Although I can see Slytherin wouldn't be your first choice, just as it wasn't his, but I believe you'll both do well there."

"Uncle Sirius is gonna kill me."

"Are you certain you're not more concerned about the lack of the gift he offered you before you set out today?"

"Hey! Don't be so bloody nosy."

"You might want to watch yourself," the Hat cautioned. "I could easily put you into Hufflepuff; a bunch of goody gum drops as far as you're concerned."

"Sorry," Harry ungraciously thought back to the Hat.

"You're not worthy of Hufflepuff anyway."

Harry was rather indignant upon hearing this. "I'm Harry Potter and I beat Voldie."

"I know who you are, boy, and vanquishing Voldemort hardly makes you hardworking or loyal. And before you even think about Ravenclaw, while I'll admit you're certainly clever, street smart and book smart are two different things, and you lack the discipline that house desires, unless, of course, it involves making good for yourself." The Hat had no illusions about Harry Potter, in spite of what he had seen in others' minds relating to this supposed wunderkind.

"So not Ravenclaw," Harry thought to himself with some relief, the house of diligent students not appealing to him in the slightest.

"Definitely not, which really only leaves Gryffindor, a house you're also not really suited for, so you're destined for the house I'd already decided on before I had even seen inside of your mind," the Hat said, before it opened the rip that served as a mouth and screamed out, "Slytherin."

Harry's legs felt almost rubbery as he slid off the stool and headed for the Slytherin table, where a relieved Neville, who had been horrified to be sorted into Slytherin, moved over to let Harry in. "I was getting worried you were taking so long."

Harry lowered his voice and whispered quietly to Neville, who he probably trusted more than anyone else he knew, except for David, "It went through all the other houses first and why I wasn't right for them before saying Slytherin."

"At least you're here now, although I still wish we'd both been in Gryffindor."

Harry responded, ignoring the remainder of the sorting, since he now really did not care about who got sorted. "Me too. Are you gonna write to your mum and tell her you're not?"

"Yeah, but she's going to be really unhappy."

"Not as unhappy as Uncle Sirius. He really hates Slytherin."

"Do you think he'll try to stop you being friends with Malfoy?"

"Dunno, but since he's not here, he can't stop me," Harry said, still unaware of Remus' appointment.

The last person to be sorted, Blaise Zabini, joined them at that moment. "Potter."

Deep in conversation with Neville, Harry had, of course, missed the boy's name, but it did not matter as he was unable to say anything other than 'hello' as the Headmistress stood up.

"I have a few announcements before dinner is served. The third floor is out of bounds; anyone caught on that floor will be severely punished."

Harry's curiosity was immediately piqued but even he did not dare say anything as McGonagall's beady eyes swept the Great Hall, quieting all those who had said something about the announcement. "The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and only students third year and above are allowed to attend Hogsmeade. Please provide your permission slips to your head of house before you leave tonight."

Harry was already planning in his head how he might somehow make his way into the village when the headmistress made her final announcement.

"Finally, I would like to welcome a new teacher to our school," McGonagall said, turning as the side door to the Great Hall opened. "Professor Binns has now left this world and moved on. Teaching history in his place will be Professor Remus Lupin. Professor Lupin will also be taking over as head of Gryffindor house."

Harry's attention was thoroughly diverted as his head snapped around and he groaned loudly, "Shit!"

Under cover of the cheers and clapping that was ongoing at the news that the dreadful Binns would be replaced, Neville whispered to Harry, "You didn't tell me he was going to be teaching here."

"That's because I didn't know," Harry said, spotting Severus Snape, his new head of house, giving his guardian a rather disgruntled look, and he immediately began to wonder if Snape did not like Remus. He was about to find out later that night…

* * *

As the feast ended, Harry and his fellow first years were instructed to follow a male prefect, who led them into what Harry guessed were the dungeons, following confusing turn after confusing turn until the prefect eventually reached a blank wall. Harry caught the prefect whispering something but he was unable to determine exactly what it was, although he guessed it to be a password, for just like in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the wall magically slid back, allowing everyone access.

Once inside, the prefect led them into a small antechamber. "Wait here."

No-one said anything as they waited, and moments later Severus Snape swept into the room. "Good evening."

Harry and everyone else responded politely, a few of them, like Harry and Draco, adding, "Professor" or "Sir".

"I expect you all to use the title of Professor when addressing or responding to me," Severus said, glaring at the small group of children.

All the children sensibly chorused, "Yes, Professor."

Severus then went on, "There are certain rules in Slytherin house, rules everyone is expected to abide by. If you break them, then you'll be punished, and I don't mean by house points or detention."

Harry felt a shiver go down his back as his new head of house said, "Do I make myself clear?"

The children obviously all felt as Harry did, as they all speedily said, "Yes, Professor."

"Unlike the other houses," here Severus sneered before continuing, "you won't be in dormitories. Thanks to our unique position under the school, we have plenty of room, and you will therefore be allocated bedrooms, each to be shared between two pupils. It is up to you to decide with whom you wish to share. Just remember that the decision you make tonight will not change over the next seven years, so choose wisely."

Harry and Neville shared relieved looks, before turning their attention back to Severus, who was still speaking. "If you have a problem while you are here, do not come to me. Instead tell a prefect, who will decide whether or not I should become involved."

Severus picked up a pile of timetables and began handing them out to everyone but Harry. "You may all leave and head into the common room. You'll find the rules hanging on either side of the fireplace. I suggest you memorize them. A prefect will then show you to your desired rooms. Potter, you will remain here."

Harry's heart began to beat faster as his fellow year mates filed out, leaving him alone with the black haired, glowering teacher. Severus closed the door and turned back to face Harry.

"You will also be reading those rules before you retire to bed, but for you I also have an additional rule. Under no circumstances will you pass on to your guardian anything that you and I may have cause to discuss. If you do, I'll see to it that you're not only punished but expelled as well."

Harry definitely could see dislike on Severus' face as he mentioned Remus. "I won't, Professor."

"Make sure you don't," Severus advised, before moving on to another subject that bothered him, and it was one that Harry had already dealt with once that day. "Was the Daily Prophet correct in stating that you were arrested by Black for bringing unauthorized Muggles in Diagon Alley?"

"No, Professor, I didn't get arrested."

"But you did bring unauthorized Muggles into our world?"

Harry wondered why Severus wanted to know but believed he had little choice except to answer the question. "Yes, Professor. They didn't believe I could do magic or that I was famous. I showed them that I could and proved that I was famous."

"And were you punished for your arrogance?"

Harry suddenly began to suspect that perhaps Severus did not like him either as Severus was sneering at him. "Yes, Professor. I was grounded for two weeks before school began."

"I had heard a rumor to that effect, and yet I recall seeing you in the area of Grimmauld Square but five days before the school year began. Or did my eyes deceive me?" It had been merely by chance that Severus had been passing through the area and had seen a boy who looked remarkably like James Potter crossing a road before going into a shop whose sign stated it was a newsagent.

Normally Harry would have lied but something about the way this man's eyes seemed to bore into him reminded Harry of Remus, and so he responded truthfully, half afraid Severus would know if he was lying, and then castigate him in some way for it. "No, Professor. I snuck out to go to the shops and buy some chocolate."

Severus was now convinced it had been Harry. "Were you punished for this misdemeanor?"

"No, Professor. No-one knows." Harry became a little concerned as he thought about the ramifications of what he had just revealed. "Are you going to tell Uncle Remus?"

"No," Severus said in a soft voice. "But if you ever disobey me as you did him and Black, I won't be so lenient. Is that clear, Potter?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And just so we're on the same page, Potter, please note that in my classroom and in this house you're a nobody; you did nothing special, and if I hear that you've been using your name to obtain privileges, you'll be punished."

Harry now found himself believing that maybe this man was more like the Sorting Hat, rather than Remus, and could also read his mind. "I understand, Professor."

Severus held out a note as well as a copy of the timetable. "I received a request from Lupin asking to see you this evening, a request I'm denying. You may, however, go see him before breakfast tomorrow. Remember what I've said. I don't want to see you in here again."

"Yes, Professor." As Harry turned to leave, Severus made one final remark.

"And I hope you're au fait with your first year Potions text, Potter, otherwise tomorrow is going to be a very unpleasant day for you."

Harry was now almost a hundred per cent certain that this man did not merely dislike him, but hated him. "I've read it, Professor."

"We'll see tomorrow, won't we, Potter?"

Harry fled, and was relieved to see his classmates still huddled around the fireplace, reading the rules. "Hi, Nev."

"What did he want?" Neville asked, voicing what everyone else wanted to know.

"To tell me that Uncle Remus wants to see me and that I can see him tomorrow before breakfast," Harry said, giving an edited version of his discussion with Severus, although he fully intended to tell Neville everything once they were alone. "Are those the rules?"

Neville nodded, his face morose as he took in the sixty rules. "There are loads, but apparently the most important ones are the first few."

Harry looked to the top of the list. "Don't get caught?"

The prefect, Roderick Bunce, who had shown them into the common room made it clearer to Harry. "Slytherins don't always play by the rules, Potter."

After Snape's speech, Harry suspected he was going to be one who did. "Oh, thanks." He then looked up at the next rule. "Always defend a fellow Slytherin against other houses."

Bunce again made things clear. "Everyone thinks that Hufflepuff is the house for the loyal; in truth we are more loyal to each other than they ever will be. We know what it's like to be persecuted because of our house affiliation."

"No house elves in personal quarters?" Harry murmured, after skimming through several other self-explanatory rules about studying.

"They snoop, and we therefore exercise self-discipline by keeping our own rooms clean. All laundry is to be delivered to the small room at the back of the common room by six on a Friday evening. You'll be able to collect it by six the next morning," Bunce said, his fellow female prefect saying something similar to the girls, who were clustered on the other side of the fireplace.

Harry scanned the board of rules again. "Favors will be permitted?"

"If you want something, it becomes a favor. For example, if you required one of us to fetch you something from Hogsmeade, if we're willing, you owe us a favor. It might be something as simple as cleaning quidditch gear or it could be that we expect you to do research for us, although as first years, it'll likely be the first option."

Harry's eyes gleamed; this was language he understood. "I had something like that going on at my old school."

Bunce reconsidered Harry, whom he would never have classed as a Slytherin, especially as he was known to have fraternized with Muggles. "Really? Such as?"

"This won't get back to Uncle Remus?" Harry asked, glancing around as if he expected his guardian to appear.

"Rule eight, Potter."

Harry looked back at the board. "Whatever is discussed in Slytherin remains within Slytherin."

"So answer the question."

"To make money I sold things that kids couldn't get from the shops because they weren't old enough or because their parents wouldn't let them have them: cigarettes, sweets, dirty magazines…"

Chortling, Draco interrupted. "Muggles must be really dumb if they want a magazine that's not clean."

"He does have a point," Bunce said, not understanding Harry's reference.

"It's just called a dirty magazine," Harry said, going on to elucidate upon what a dirty magazine was, lowering his voice so that only the boys surrounding him could hear what was being said. "It's a mag that has pictures of women without clothes in it. Some of the kids used to get them for their older brothers."

"Ah," Bunce said, making a note to talk to Harry alone, magazines like that not available in the wizarding world. "How did you get them?"

Harry smirked. "I was friends with someone whose brother was sixteen, and he took a cut of anything we sold."

"Then you know what a favor is," Bunce said, before checking the time. "Has everyone finished reading the rules?"

"I haven't," Harry said, barely having reached fifteen thanks to talking to Bunce.

"I'll copy them for you to look at it in your room," Bunce offered, before aiming his wand at the rules and doing exactly that. "Call it a welcome to Slytherin, Potter."

"Thanks," Harry said, holding out his hand.

Bunce shook it and then led the group off to show them the rooms they were to be using.

In the shadows, Severus began to revise his opinion of Harry. He, like Bunce, had merely thought Harry a spoiled brat who did as he wished, and was far from Slytherin material. But it now looked as if he had the makings of a Slytherin after all. Sinking back into the shadows, he headed for his rooms.

* * *

Harry was up early, although Neville ignored him and buried back down beneath the covers. Therefore, after asking Bunce, who was already up and in the common room, he was directed to the Great Hall. Upon arrival, he spotted Remus at the Gryffindor table handing out a timetable to a bushy haired girl who was seated at the table and eating cereal. "Uncle Remus?"

"Ah, Harry, one moment," Remus said, smiling down at Hermione. "Don't forget, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, Miss Granger."

"Thank you, Sir."

Remus then beckoned to Harry. "Come with me."

Harry followed Remus out of the Great Hall and up some stairs until they reached the second floor, where Harry was led through a classroom, up some more stairs and into an office that reminded Harry of Remus' study at home. Remus then opened a narrow oak door that had been hidden by a curtain.

"Come on, Harry. In you go."

Harry stepped through the door and into a room that was decorated in dark woods and warm red fabrics that again reminded Harry of his home. Once seated, Harry blurted out what had been bothering him since before the feast. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming here?"

Remus sat down opposite Harry. "Why do you think I didn't tell you?"

"Because I messed up."

"I hardly call bullying and stealing messing up, Harry," Remus said, his tone serious. "And I've brought you in here to warn you that under no circumstances will I allow such behavior while you're here at Hogwarts."

"Yes, Sir," Harry said, fairly hopeful after Bunce's reaction that he was going to be able to get by on favors alone, especially if he was able to contact David.

Remus, however, was far from finished. "And you should know that your punishment here won't be grounding; it'll be loss of house points, which will affect your fellow students in Slytherin and your standing with them, and detention, which will affect only you. Can you guess which I'll be administering if you do, as you so nicely put it, mess up?"

Harry sighed. "Both."

"Correct," Remus said, hoping his words were getting through to Harry. "I intend to make sure you don't fall by the wayside, Harry."

"Yes, Sir," Harry said, now more than a little glad he was in Slytherin, in spite of Severus Snape's dislike of him.

"How is Slytherin?" Remus asked, almost as if he too could read Harry's mind.

Harry remembered the rules he had read before going to sleep and shrugged. "It's okay."

"Is Professor Snape treating you fairly?"

Harry told the truth without going into detail. "He kinda warned me like you did."

Remus was relieved to hear that Snape had not been too harsh but decided he needed to be honest with Harry since he had been sorted into Slytherin. "Harry, I was hoping you'd get into Gryffindor but since you're not, you should know something about Professor Snape."

"That he doesn't like you?" Harry guessed when Remus paused.

"Yes. We had our differences when we were at school together, and I don't believe that Professor Snape has ever been able to get past them, so just tread carefully."

"I will," Harry said, although he had to know, "What differences?"

"The same sort of differences you're going to encounter from other houses, such as Gryffindor, by being in Slytherin."

Harry again recalled the rules on the wall in Slytherin and guessed that this was what they were alluding to when they mentioned defending other Slytherins. "Okay, but I know you won't let Gryffindor play up."

"I won't, but I also won't bail you out if you mess up, Harry."

"I didn't think you would." Harry was only too well aware that out of his two guardians, Sirius was far more lenient than the rather strict Remus.

"Good," Remus said, before relaxing his stern demeanor. "Now before you go to breakfast, I have the gift I'm sure Sirius told you about."

Harry sat up straighter. "What is it?"

"Wait here."

Harry was torn between disappointment and joy when he saw what Remus was carrying as he returned from his bedroom: an owl. It wasn't the owl Harry had wanted, but it was still an owl. "He's mine?"

Remus set the owl down. "He is."

The snowy white owl stared at Harry before flying over and nudging him with his head. "At least he seems to like me."

"The owner of Eeylops said he was one of the gentlest owls he owned."

"You bought me a sissy owl?"

"We could've bought you one like Rudyard," Remus said, mentioning Sirius' vicious barn owl that tried to take chunks out of Harry every time the owl went near him.

"Nah," Harry said quickly. "This one's good."

"What are you going to call him?"

"I dunno."

"I don't know," Remus corrected, before making a suggestion. "You might want to leave him here for today and collect him tonight after dinner."

"Okay."

Remus held out his arm and the snowy owl flew to him. "I'll escort you back to the Great Hall and meet with you tonight after dinner."

Harry dutifully waited while Remus dealt with his owl, and then chatted amicably with him as they headed down to the Great Hall, where Remus waved briefly to Neville who was seated at the Slytherin table.

As he walked by the Gryffindor table Harry noticed how Ron Weasley gave him a look of disgust, something Harry totally ignored, although the bushy haired girl next to the redhead gave Harry a brief, but friendly smile, which he returned before heading to sit down next to Neville.

"My uncles have bought me an owl, so if you need to use him, you can."

Draco overheard this and butted into the conversation. "What sort of owl is it?"

"A snowy owl."

"Harfang des neiges," Draco said, earning him a confused look from most of those around him. "It's French for snowy owl."

"You speak French?" Harry asked, having tried and failed when Remus had tried to teach him the basics.

"Oui," Draco responded. "Father has family in France, and I spend every summer there, or at least part of it."

"I'm crap at it," Harry admitted. "But I like the name Harfang. I was trying to think of something to call my owl and Harfang sounds sort of mean and cool."

Draco was pleased by Harry's praise, but did not reveal this, instead urging him to eat his breakfast before it was too late.

* * *

Harry was relaxed, even though most of what he was learning was new, or at least he was alright up until potions. Then he became anxious, remembering Severus' warning from the previous night, even though Harry had spent much of his lunch hour scouring his potions textbook, having no idea that Severus had noticed.

Once inside the potions classroom, a dark and dank square room with large square tables, Harry sat down next to Neville, tugging out parchment and his textbook.

Moments later, Severus swept in, his cloak soaring out behind him, making him appear to be flying as he made his way to the front of the classroom, flicking his wand behind his head to close the door and narrowly missing Ron Weasley, who had been running late.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," Severus said in a soft voice, using the same speech he gave every year to the new pupils. He continued with his speech, all the time watching as Harry sat apprehensively, his hand grasping his quill so tightly that Severus expected it to break. As he came to the end of his oration, "…if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach", he honed in on Harry, just as he had promised he would. "Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that the bushy haired girl, Granger, had her hand in the air, and Harry imagined she was going to be like Jennifer Bennett, a know-it-all girl from his junior school, who had been something of a pain. However, Harry was about to rob this girl of her pleasure of being correct, something he had rarely been able to do to Jennifer. "Draught of Living Death, Professor Snape."

"And where would I find a bezoar?"

Again Harry knew the answer. "In a goat's stomach, Professor."

"And its purpose is…?"

"It can save you if you've been poisoned, Professor."

Severus had been intending to ask a few more questions, but since it was obvious that Harry had actually read the textbook, he decided to end his questioning, taking pleasure out of the bushy haired girl's look of disappointment as he snapped out, "Write it down then."

Everyone scrambled to do as they were told, Ron glaring at Harry as Severus decided to irritate Gryffindor further. "Ten points to Slytherin."

He then tapped the board and words appeared. "This is a simple potion, something even you dunderheads should be capable of brewing. Pair up and begin."

Harry could see that Neville had broken out into a sweat and, having been taught at least basic potions by Sirius, he took over. "You can weigh out one ounce of dried nettles and I'll crush the snake fangs."

After Neville had finished, he asked, "Do you want me to stew the horned slugs?"

"No, but you can chop that aloe up into tiny pieces so it's ready to go in at the end," Harry instructed, as he added the snake fangs to the boiling water and nettles in his cauldron. He then began on stewing his slugs, placing them in a separate container, which he then filled with water, covered, and sank into the cauldron to heat up with the other ingredients.

Severus was not surprised to see Harry doing so well; his mother too had been an excellent brewer. He walked by Draco's table where the blonde was working with Blaise Zabini. "Five points to Slytherin. Your stewed slugs look just about perfect."

He smirked to himself as he swept by the bushy haired girl's table, where she was working with Ron Weasley, neither of them seemingly happy with the pairing. "Tut, tut, Miss Granger. Your slugs are a little large. A point from Gryffindor for incompetence."

Granger, whose first name was actually Hermione, shot Ron a disgusted look before Harry heard her berating him. Grinning, he extracted his own slugs and checked on them. "Okay, Nev, you can add these one at a time."

Neville did as he was told, standing back when Harry told him to do so as Harry added the aloe and the potion fizzed up, before settling down and becoming an almost translucent green color.

Harry let out a sigh of relief and carefully bottled some of it in a vial.

"Bring it here, Potter, don't dawdle." Severus was still not quite yet ready to give Harry a break.

Harry hurried up to the front, handing over his potion.

"Adequate. You may return to your desk, clean up, and then begin writing down the homework." Severus tapped the blackboard, the potion instructions vanishing, drawing a few worried cries from some of the pupils who had yet to finish.

Harry and Neville, and soon Draco and Blaise from his house were writing down the homework: ten uses for aloe and five places it could be found. Not long afterwards, after being given a 'barely passable' remark, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley also began to do the same.

Even thought he had gotten through the class without incident, Harry was relieved when they were released, and he headed for library, Neville grumbling about how much work they had to do. As he sat down, he noticed Hermione sitting down at the table left of him and nodded his head at her when she smiled.

"I think she likes you," Neville whispered to Harry.

Harry's response was to pull a face. "I don't think so."

"Why don't you talk to her?"

"She's a Gryffindor," Harry contested, smiling more widely as Draco joined them, a hard faced girl with dark hair sitting down with him.

"Harry, Longbottom, this is Pansy Parkinson," Draco said, introducing the girl who had so far said nothing to Harry. "I said she could sit with us while we do our homework."

"Hello," Pansy said, taking out her potions text and parchment so that she could begin her homework.

Harry and Neville both politely said hello but neither had anything else they wished to say to the girl and so got on with doing their work, only stopping as they were reminded by Greg Goyle, who had been sitting on the table to Harry's right, that it was dinnertime.

"I have to go see Uncle Remus after dinner and get Harfang," Harry said, shoving his work away. "So I'll have to finish charms tomorrow night."

* * *

After dinner, on his return to his room, having fed his owl and taken it to the owlery, Harry discovered Bunce waiting for him.

Bunce nodded towards Neville. "Out."

Neville left, not quite sure what might happen if he did not go.

Then Bunce closed the door on a suddenly nervous Harry. "I wanted to talk to you about those magazines."

Harry let out a sigh of relief and a smile crept on to his face. "Do you want one?"

"I do," Bunce said, not showing any shame on his face at his request. "When can you get me one?"

Harry walked over to his trunk and rummaged in it, tugging up the false bottom and pulling out a glossy magazine. "I have a few left over from last year. You can have this one for nothing for copying the rules for me."

Bunce flicked open the magazine, his eyes almost bulging out of his head at the sight of the rather shapely woman whose pose left very little to the imagination. "Can you get more?"

"I have two left here," Harry said, holding them up to show they were different to the one Bunce held in his hand.

"If you're willing to give them up, I'll fetch you any sweets of your choice up to two Galleons worth when I next go to Hogsmeade."

Harry held out his hand. "Agreed."

"And what else can you get?"

After supplying Bunce with a list of exactly what he could obtain if he could manage to get hold of David, Harry stood grinning, his smile huge and triumphant as Bunce left. He was back in business.


	6. Punishment

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the sole property of J K Rowling but the OCs are not.**

**Chapter 6: Punishment**

Humming a tune he had heard being played on the radio the previous night, Sirius headed down to breakfast, spotting the snowy owl he and Remus had bought for Harry, sitting on the back of his chair. Unlike Rudyard, Sirius' rather feisty barn owl, the snowy owl sat quietly while Sirius removed the letter he was carrying, Sirius noticing a second letter addressed to Alice Longbottom beneath his. "I suppose you want some bacon before you go."

The owl cracked his bill at Sirius, and Sirius passed him some bacon that had been cooked by the house-elves that he had long ago come to take for granted, despite his dislike of them. Cramming a piece of bacon into his own mouth, after wiping his fingers on a napkin, he grabbed a knife and ran it along the envelope, tugging out Harry's letter, the scruffy handwriting made it difficult to read what had been written.

"_Uncle Sirius,_

_Please don't be mad with me…_

Sirius stopped reading as he could hardly bear to read on as he suspected what was coming. His suspicions were confirmed as he returned his attention to the letter.

"…_but I got into Slytherin. But it's not that bad. I have Neville with me, and we have our own bedroom together in Slytherin."_

Sirius again broke off from reading the letter, this time to address the owl that was about to take flight. "Wait. I can take that letter to Alice Longbottom."

A dutiful bird, who understood human speech, as did most magically orientated owls, Harry's owl lifted up from the seat, leaving Sirius in no doubt as to who would deliver the letter to Alice.

"In that case, you can ride along with me and we'll deliver it together," Sirius said, deciding it might be better if he broke the news to Alice about her son.

Sirius then returned to Harry's letter, now reading about his first day at Hogwarts.

"_Our first day was okay and we were first to finish in Potions, but I'm rubbish at Transfiguration though Draco was really good and got our house a point. Charms was fun. I've got Defense and History tomorrow. I've got to go for dinner now._

_Thanks for Harfang. Glad he doesn't bite._

_Love Harry.'_

Sirius dropped the letter to the table, his appetite now gone. Deep down he had known that Harry would likely make Slytherin but he had kept hoping. Neville, however, was something of a shock, and he knew it would come as one to Alice. He turned to the owl and held out his arm. "Come on, Harfang."

Harfang took flight briefly, landing on Sirius' arm, before letting out a hissing sound as Sirius disapparated with him.

On arrival, Harfang flew up into the air, alarmed somewhat by the form of travel he had just endured, before landing again on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius stroked the owl's head. "Sorry about that, but it's too far for me to fly here." He then rang the doorbell of Alice's home, a large detached brick house set on an acre of land in a rural wizarding community just outside of Bristol.

A house-elf opened the door. "Mr. Auror Black, Sir, come in."

"Hobnob," Sirius said, entering the home, "is Alice up?"

"Yes, Mr. Auror Black, she's being in the dining room."

"Thanks," Sirius said absently, his mind already on what he had to tell Alice.

Alice, who had heard the doorbell, was on her feet and heading towards him, unable to miss the grave look he was wearing. "Sirius, what's wrong?"

"Let's go sit down."

"Oh my, is Neville okay?"

"He's fine," Sirius said, following Alice back into the dining room and taking a seat opposite her. "Where's Mrs. Longbottom?"

"She's not feeling so well today," Alice said, sitting down and picking up the teapot, pouring a cup of tea out for Sirius. "So tell me what's wrong."

Sirius took a sip of the tea before calling to Harfang, who flew to Alice, rather than him. "It's about what's in that letter."

"You've come about what Neville's written?"

"Alice, I'm sorry but he got sorted into Slytherin."

Alice dropped the unopened letter on to the table in shock. "Slytherin? My Neville? Are you sure?"

"Harry wrote to me begging me not to be mad and saying that he and Neville were sharing a bedroom in Slytherin."

Alice now picked up Neville's letter and opened it.

"_Dear Mum,_

_I know you are going to be angry at me but I ended up in Slytherin. I was going to ask to go into Gryffindor but when the Sorting Hat said Harry needed me I didn't, because Harry's my best friend. It's sort of scary but no-one has been mean to me or picked on me and I'm sharing a bedroom with Harry._

_We had potions yesterday…"_

"Potions on the first day?"

"Remus said that McGonagall was revising the timetable this year," Sirius informed her.

Alice returned to her letter reading.

"… _and I did pretty well because Harry did the hard stuff. I'm scared about flying but I don't know when that's going to be. _

_There was something else I wanted to tell you but I can't remember what it was."_

_Sorry, Mum, I love you._

_Your son,_

_Neville xxxxx"_

Alice handed over the letter to Sirius. "You might want to read it."

As he read it, Sirius' opinion of Neville went up several notches; he had always liked the bumbling and nervous boy, but upon reading that Neville had deliberately not begged to go into Gryffindor so that he could support Harry, Sirius upgraded 'liked' to 'admired'. "So poor Neville was the sacrificial lamb… I'm sorry, Alice."

"It's okay," Alice said, smiling. "I'm proud of what Neville did for Harry. But Remus did say that he expected Harry to end up a Slytherin, although Remus said he would be ever hopeful until the last moment."

"He didn't say that to me." Sirius therefore broached to Alice something he had so far only ever asked Remus, who had shot him down every time he had mentioned the subject. "Is there something going on between the two of you?"

"Me and Remus?" Alice laughed loudly. "We're friends but it ends there." Her laughter died away. "And I'm still married to Frank."

Sirius had not seen Frank Longbottom, a long term patient at St. Mungo's, for over six months. "How is he?"

"No better; I'm actually going to visit him to tell him about Neville."

"You're going to tell Frank that Neville's in Slytherin?"

"He won't understand, but I still think he should know that I'm proud of our son for what he's done," Alice said, pushing her teacup away.

"Would you like some company?"

"I'm sure Frank would love to see you," Alice said, suddenly realizing she would be glad of the company while she broke the news to Frank. "You can also make a recommendation on where I can buy a Remembrall. Mum was going to get Neville one but after coming down with this terrible flu that's going around, she's just not up to it."

"Shouldn't she be in the hospital?" Then Sirius realized what he had said. "Sorry. I sometimes forget you're a healer and capable of dealing with flu."

"A junior healer, and barely qualified," Alice reminded him, having taken classes while still working as a nurse at St. Mungo's. "And I might have to move her if she gets any worse but she's complaining vociferously at the very idea of it."

This did not surprise Sirius; Augusta Longbottom, Alice's mother-in-law was well known for voicing her opinions, and quite loudly when necessary. "I could arrest her and order her to go."

Alice laughed. "She'd probably hit you with her umbrella."

Sirius had no wish to be at the receiving end of that. "In that case, I'll leave her be. What time are you planning to visit Frank?"

"Before lunch."

"Then I'll see you about 11.30 at the hospital," Sirius said, leaning over and kissing Alice's cheek, before disapparating.

* * *

Harry looked up and nudged Neville. "Here comes Harfang and he's carrying something."

Neville also spotted a similar white owl to Harry's and it was flying towards him. "I've got something too."

Neville took the letter and passed the bird a piece of bacon that was left over from breakfast. Opening up the letter, he gasped. "Harry, she's mine. Mum said she's a present for getting into Slytherin!"

"You'd better watch she doesn't eat Trevor," Harry warned, already once having had to stop Harfang from doing exactly that.

"I'll ask Mum for some pocket money so I can buy a tank to put him in," Neville decided, thinking his toad would be safer inside of one. "What have you got?"

"A Remembrall, but it's for you. Your mum said she wanted to make sure it got here safely as she knew Harfang would be able to manage it." Harry then let out a squeal as Neville's new owl bit him. "Hey, I'm just the messenger!"

Neville turned the Remembrall over in his hands, the smoke inside of it turning red. "It'd help if it told me what I'd forgotten."

"Your history textbook," Harry said, Neville already having said he had forgotten it. "Don't worry. You can share mine. Come on, or we're going to be late for class."

Getting up, Harry almost ran into Ron at the exit, Ron growling at him, "Get out of my way, Potter!"

"Why should he?" Draco said, coming up behind Harry. "You're not even fit to lick his boots."

"I don't need to," Ron said nastily, "he's got you to do it for him."

Draco's face turned ugly. "You're going to be sorry you said that, Weasel. Wizards' duel tonight."

"You're on," Ron said, not about to back down, hating Draco almost as much as he now hated Harry, whom he considered a traitor, and that was after barely two weeks. "Who's your second?"

"Longbottom," Draco said, surprising both Neville and Ron.

Ron was extremely dismissive of this choice. "He doesn't even know which end of his wand works."

"And he could still beat you," Draco retorted, defending his fellow Slytherin. "Your second?"

Wanting to be just as contrary, Ron looked around for the least likely candidate he could find, and blurted out, "Granger."

Hermione, who rarely spoke to her classmates or other house members, had something to say about this. "No way, Ronald Weasley. I'm not getting into trouble because you want to fight Malfoy. And if you do, I'll tell."

She knew she had made a mistake when she saw the faces of almost everyone around her change, Harry stepping forward to explain, taking pity on her since his mother had also been a Muggle-born, and, if not for her friendship with his head of house, could have ended up just like Hermione, a know-it-all who had no idea how the wizarding world worked.

"You don't have to be a second, but you can't tell. If you do, it's counted as being really, really rude, and you could end up being challenged to a duel by Weasley or Draco for doing it."

Hermione now understood the horrified looks she had been given, and although every instinct still said she should tell a teacher, she backed off. "Okay, I won't tell, but I'm not going to take part."

"Then the Weasel needs to pick someone else," Draco said, then going on to remind Ron of something important. "And if this second says no, you can't have one."

Ron looked around to see his dormitory mates, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, were avoiding making eye contact, and so he picked someone who _was_ looking at him. "Fred."

All eyes now turned to Fred Weasley, who swiftly made it clear that he too was not about to back Ron up. "Sorry, but no."

Ron was completely indignant. "But you're my brother!"

"Yeah, but I'm a brother who thinks you were in the wrong in the first place, so I can't defend that; you know that as well as I do."

Harry, who already knew the etiquette of wizarding dueling, noticed that Granger was scribbling down everything that was being said, and so he walked back over to the Slytherin table, aware that Harfang was still there. Dragging a quill and a tatty piece of parchment out of his school bag, Harry wrote a few lines on the parchment before tying it to Harfang's leg. "You can give this to her when she's alone. Understand?"

The owl looked at Harry as if he had committed a crime for daring to ask if he understood and took to the wing, flying away from the huddled group before turning to fly over them and out of the Great Hall, Neville's owl following him.

Harry glanced over at the head table and he just knew that Remus could hear everything that was being said, his guardian's face guarded but frown lined. Even so, Harry also knew that Remus would not interfere in the set up or even during the duel, as this too would be considered an insult, but as a teacher he had every right to wait until it had finished and then punish everyone who had taken part in it.

Harry therefore waited for Ron and Draco to finish with the arrangements, Draco having selected the abandoned Defense classroom on the fourth floor, before he pulled Draco out of the Hall and to one side. "You'll need to try and change it."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I think my uncle cast an eavesdropping spell," Harry lied, not about to reveal to Draco what his uncle was, even though he really liked Draco. "I could see his face scrunching up, so I think he was listening."

"Thanks, Harry. I'll try and change it to the trophy room."

"You might want to try and change the date and time too." Harry could have suggested a date he knew Remus would be out of action, but he did not wish to be too obvious about his guardian's condition by choosing the night of the full moon.

"Good idea." Draco clapped Harry on the back, smiling at Neville who had come out behind them. "Thanks for being my second."

Neville had been unable to say no for two reasons: he had agreed with Draco's reason for asking for a duel, and he did not dare disobey the rules of Slytherin, a house he had settled into more quickly than he could have ever imagined possible. "Anytime."

All three boys threw dirty looks at Ron, but said nothing as Remus came out behind him and addressed the three Slytherins and the Gryffindor. "I believe you're due in my class in two minutes. I suggest you all run as I'll be deducting points if you're late."

All the boys made it by the skin of their teeth, although they all wondered how Remus had managed to get there before them without passing them in the corridors.

* * *

As lunchtime finished, Neville began to fret; it was now time for their first flying lesson. Sirius had taken both Harry and Neville flying in the British countryside when they had turned ten, Harry proving to be a natural, but poor Neville was worse than a hippogriff with one wing: he simply could not stay in the air. And he was now terrified by what lay ahead.

"I'm going to be sick," Neville said, his face pale and his hands clammy as they headed down to the quidditch pitch where the flying lesson was to be held that day.

"Nev, it's gonna be okay," Harry said in a reassuring voice, although deep down he was not quite convinced he was telling the truth. "I bet that girl, Granger, and Thomas haven't flown before."

Mentioning the Muggle-borns made Neville feel even worse. "And I bet they're still going to be better than me."

Neville proved to be correct, when less than five minutes into the lesson, his broomstick went out of control and carried him off before dumping him on to the ground and breaking his wrist.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, was barely out of sight when Ron Weasley reached down and grabbed a small spherical object off the ground. "Finders keepers."

Harry disagreed. "I don't think so, Weasley. That's Neville's."

"Prove it," Ron said in a confrontational manner. "Does it have his name on? I don't think so."

Draco also jumped into the fray. "I saw him drop it, so you'd better give it him back."

"And you'd better be there tonight," Ron said, letting Draco know he had refused his request to change the time and place of their duel. "And if you beat me, you can have this back."

Everyone was surprised when Hermione defended Draco, especially as she had seemed to know little about wizarding dueling that morning and that she was not a Slytherin. "You can't do that. You've already set the terms of the duel."

Draco smirked at Ron. "She's right, Weasel. So hand it over."

Ron backed off as both Harry and Draco advanced on him, before climbing on to a broomstick and taking off, only then taunting the two boys. "You won't be able to get it now."

Harry looked at Draco, who grinned at him. "I think we can."

Draco mounted his broomstick, only to turn as Hermione again spoke. "If Madam Hooch comes back, you'll get expelled!"

"Course we won't," Harry said, not believing the threat the flying teacher had made before she had left with Neville to take him to the hospital wing.

Ron was having second thoughts as he heard Hermione's reminder, but it was too late and the die was cast, and not about to lose face, he flew off.

Draco and Harry both tailed him, Draco yelling, "Let's box him in."

"Okay," Harry yelled back, shifting his position so that he could flank Ron's left side, while Draco went right.

Ron spotted what they were trying to do and awkwardly maneuvered upwards, but he was easily being outflown by both Harry and Draco. As they blocked him in, Draco was a little more forceful than Harry, smashing into Ron, who dropped the Remembrall.

Both Harry and Draco broke off from harassing Ron to go after the falling object, Harry reaching it first, scooping it up in his hand moments before it would have impacted upon the ground. "Got it!"

"Boys!"

All three boys turned at the thundered call, spotting Remus standing with his arms folded and Harry groaned. "Shit! He's gonna throw the book at me."

Ron gloated, believing he would be safe since he was a Gryffindor. "Serves you right, Potter."

Draco said nothing, his mouth tight as it looked as though Hermione's warning might come to pass.

As all three boys landed, Remus said in a quiet but authoritative voice, "I want an explanation of what's going on."

Draco began, "Ron stole Neville's Remembrall even though he knows it's not his, Professor, and he wouldn't give it back."

Remus turned his attention to Ron. "Is this true, Mr. Weasley?"

"He a lying snake," Ron said, completely unaware that Remus would know if he was lying, Ron's heart rate increasing and his nerves making him sweat, all of which Remus could detect through his heightened senses, thanks to his lupine talent.

"Harry, what's your version of the story?"

"What Draco said is true. Ron took off and told us to come and get it, so we did. We bumped him and he dropped the Remembrall, and I got it."

"Is there anyone else here willing to back their story up?"

Harry could see that Hermione was twitching visibly, but after her warning earlier that day, she was keeping quiet. Remus could also see this, and after overhearing the morning's conversation and Hermione's faux pas, he suspected she had something to say but was unwilling to do so. "Very well, I'll make my decision based on what I know."

Hermione's resolve broke, believing, like Ron, that Remus would favor the Gryffindor boy who had started the trouble. "I know I shouldn't say this, but they're telling the truth, Sir."

"Who's telling the truth, Miss Granger?" Remus asked the hand-wringing girl, who was now stepping from foot to foot.

"The Slytherins, Sir."

"Blabbermouth," Lavender hissed at Hermione.

"Five points from Gryffindor, Miss Brown, for being rude to someone who's trying to do the right thing. Five points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger for doing so," Remus said, retaining the score total for Gryffindor. "If anyone else would like to say anything untoward to Miss Granger, please remember that in spite of being in charge of Gryffindor House, I won't hesitate to deduct points. Do I make myself clear?"

The group mumbled their response, the Slytherins a little happier at the display. Remus then turned to Harry and Draco. "While I understand you thought you were doing the right thing, you still disobeyed a teacher, as I imagine Madam Hooch would have asked you all to remain with your feet firmly on the ground. Am I correct?"

Harry nodded, and so Remus went on, "And you've both therefore lost ten points for Slytherin and will serve a detention with me tonight. However, for defending a fellow housemate's property, I'm going to award you five points each."

Harry and Draco were a little despondent about losing ten points in total but it was not the end of the world, and they had followed the Slytherin rules.

Now it was Ron's turn, and he was visibly shaking as Remus turned his steely gaze upon him. "Mr. Weasley, I'm ashamed to discover that you are not only a liar but a would-be thief. I'll be discussing this matter with the headmistress. You're to go to my office and wait for us there."

The gathered group was astounded at Remus' harsh reaction, but afraid of bringing his wrath down upon them, they said nothing as they gathered together.

Remus had a final remark for them. "You'll all return to your common rooms where you'll write one foot on why disobeying a teacher is a bad idea. The best paper will win five points."

Harry let Remus get out of earshot before saying to Draco, "I know he won't award it to me."

"Me neither," Draco said, as he glanced at Blaise. "Perhaps you might get it."

"I think Granger will," Blaise said, noticing that everyone else was ignoring the miserable looking girl. "And she deserves it if she does; she stuck up for Slytherins, and she's a Mudblood and a Gryffindor!"

Harry stiffened and stopped walking. "Zabini, don't ever call her that again. My mum was a Muggle-born."

"Sorry, Harry," Blaise said, having completely forgotten. "But come on, why would she stick up for any of us?"

"Coz she's a goody-two shoes who likes being the teacher's pet," Harry said, having stuck to his original belief that Hermione was just like the know-it-all at his former school. "And I bet everyone in her House will be horrible to her."

Harry, however, was not quite right…

* * *

Ron returned to Gryffindor thirty points lighter and ten detentions heavier. In addition, he had not only received a horrible dressing down from the Headmistress but also from his mother, who had been called in by McGonagall due to what she saw as the severity of the situation. He was also going to have to write an apology to not only Neville, but to Harry and Draco as well.

On entering the Gryffindor common room, he purposely searched out Hermione, although he had been specifically warned by Remus not to do so. "You've made me lose points and I've got ten bloody detentions."

"And you've now also got two more detentions and lost another ten points for disobeying an order."

In his anger, Ron had failed to notice the common room fall silent or that he had been followed into it by his head of house, who swiftly began to make it clear exactly whose fault it was.

"You took the Remembrall and baited both boys, Mr. Weasley. I don't like liars or thieves and you are seemingly both. I suggest you retire to your bedroom before I instigate the punishment the Headmistress is holding in abeyance."

Ron fled and Remus addressed all of the Gryffindors. "If I hear of anyone going after Miss Granger for what's happened today, I promise you'll be serving detention from now until Christmas. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded or responded verbally, Remus beckoning to a tearful Hermione. "Miss Granger, please come with me."

Surprisingly, Percy Weasley stepped forward. "Professor, I'll look after her."

Remus hesitated, having intended to have Hermione sleep alone that night in the hospital wing until the indignation of her classmates had died down.

A third year girl, Helen Driscoll, also stepped forward, as if she had read Remus' mind. "She can sleep in our dorm, Sir. We've got a spare bed."

Remus knew that the third year girls were all half-bloods or Muggle-borns, and so he decided to take the unprecedented step of moving Hermione in with them. "Thank you, Miss Driscoll. I'll arrange for Miss Granger's things to be moved into your dormitory for the time being."

* * *

In Slytherin, things were a little more harmonious, Severus having sat in on the meeting as it had concerned three of his House. He had listened quietly as Ron had admitted that he taken Neville's Remembrall and that Draco and Harry had been telling the truth. Unaware of this, Harry and Draco were both nervous as they were called into the ante-chamber to talk to Severus.

"I've just returned from Weasley's meeting with the Headmistress," Severus revealed to the two tense boys. "And since he admitted it was entirely his fault, I won't be punishing either of you for your defense of a classmate. In fact, I'm going to award points for doing so; ten each for upholding the honor of Slytherin house. However…"

Here Harry and Draco both tensed up further.

"…you both broke the first rule of Slytherin, and while I'm going to punish you both with nothing more than a detention for doing so this time, I want you to see what will happen next time if you get caught again breaking that rule."

Severus stood up and walked towards the door. "I suggest you hurry before I change my mind."

"Yes, Professor," both boys said, rushing forward but both with enough manners to know that they should wait for their teacher to leave the room first before following him, thereby avoiding any further punishment.

As Severus stepped into the common room and asked for silence, it was given within seconds. "Mr. Cartwright, please stand in front of the fireplace."

Cartwright was pale but moved as he had been ordered to, rolling down his sleeves to cover his wrists, and holding out his hands, palms upright and held together. "I'm ready, Professor."

Harry gulped audibly as Severus walked to the wall beyond the fireplace and picked off a long leather strap, which had a sort of forked tongue at one end, and had been something Harry had only believed to be an ornament. It was now becoming evident that he had been wrong in his belief.

Severus stood slightly to the right of the boy's outstretched hands and placed the long strap over his right shoulder, before bringing it down across the boy's hands, letting the weight of the strap do the work.

As the strap flicked by Severus' legs, Harry realized why Severus had stood slightly to the right; if he had not, he would probably have caught the belt on his left leg as it came down. The procedure was carried out thrice more before Severus moved to replace the strap on the wall and to face Carter. "You may have Miss Downey tend to your hands."

"Thank you, Professor." Carter then dropped his hands and walked off in the direction of the fifth year dormitories.

Harry and Draco were summoned back into the antechamber, where Severus sat down as he spoke to them. "If this had been your second offense, then you would have received the punishment of the tawse, as did Mr. Carter. Do not get caught again."

Both boys hurriedly shook their heads, saying, "No, Professor."

"I have one more matter I wish to discuss with you before you leave. I expect you to both report to the quidditch pitch on Saturday morning at nine sharp. Collect a broomstick before you do so and bring it with you. Dismissed."

Harry and Draco were both glad to get out of Severus' room, the two boys heading into Harry's bedroom, Neville still in the hospital wing. Harry slumped on to his bed. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Draco was as disturbed as Harry, and for once admitted it. "Me too. That was horrible. I've never even been smacked before."

"I have," Harry admitted, his cheeks burning as he thought about the last incident. "For bullying and stealing."

"You stole?"

And so Harry inducted Draco into the small group of friends who knew his secrets, telling him all about the racket he had had going on, and was still continuing with. "I'm a little scared now about carrying it on."

"I think that rule only applies to outside of Slytherin," Draco said, quite correct in his assumption. "And it's sort of a favor thing, isn't it?" He did, however, express his opinion about the stealing. "You're rich. Why would you take other children's lunch money?"

"It was Dudley's idea," Harry revealed. "His mum doesn't get much money and he never has anything new, so I sort of went along with the idea. And I was mad at Uncle Remus for not letting me have a CD player."

"What's that?"

"A sort of record player that fits into your backpack or a big pocket," Harry explained. "It plays a disc that has music on it. Uncle Remus gave it away to the charity store."

"A Muggle thing?"

"Yeah, but it was cool to have music outside," Harry said, somewhat glumly.

"What do you suppose Professor Snape wants us down on the quidditch pitch for?" Draco asked, not having any further questions for Harry about his checkered past.

"Dunno, probably some sort of punishment with broomsticks."

"Great," Draco said in a dismal voice, agreeing with Harry. "Everyone will see us."

"We'll worry about it on Saturday," Harry said, after checking the time and noticing they had five minutes to make it to detention. "Come on, we'd better run."

* * *

When the detention was over, Draco again followed Harry into his room, once more sitting down on Neville's bed. "Do you think the Weasel will show tonight?"

"If he has any sense, he won't, and Neville can't."

"Would you be my second?" Draco asked.

"You're still going? Even after what Snape did to that kid and you know we're gonna get caught."

"I have to. I'd be laughed at if I didn't and I'd bring shame on our house."

If he went, Harry knew Remus would come down on him like a ton of bricks, and that he and Draco would be subjected to a good deal of pain, but he had truly embraced his place in Slytherin and so he nodded. "Course I will."

"Thanks. In that case I'll see you at about 11.30."

Draco had only been gone a few minutes when Harfang flew in through the hole in the wall, Harry having no idea though how Harfang had made it through the maze of the dungeons and through seemingly solid walls. "You've got a message for me?"

Harfang hooted and held out his leg, allowing Harry to take a scrap of paper that he recognized as the one he had sent to Hermione. He opened it fully, his scruffy handwriting contrasting with Hermione's tidy script.

_'Harry Potter,_

_Thank you for telling me I could read about wizarding dueling in 'To Duel or Not to Duel'. I took it out of the library and read most of it over lunch. There are some questions I have about it, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind answering them.'_

Harry spotted six questions below the neat script, all of which were very good questions. He again decided to give Hermione a break, although he had no idea why he was doing this for a girl he did not think that much of.

After finishing scribbling the answers down, Harry continued to read the letter.

_'If there is ever anything I can help you with in return, I'd be happy to do it._

_Best regards,_

_Hermione Granger._

_P.S. I asked your owl to deliver this to you when no-one else would be there. I wasn't sure if you should be writing to a Gryffindor.'_

Harry smiled at this and penned a quick note back, noticing on his bedside clock that he had spent over half an hour writing down the answers and it was almost time to meet with Draco.

When he had finished, he attached the note to Harfang's leg, and then headed off to meet Draco.


End file.
